Background: The 2024 Olympic Games in France were held in Seine-Saint-Denis (SSD), a socio-economically disadvantaged district of Paris. As part of the Olympic legacy, public policies were implemented to improve children`s water safety through new swimming facilities and extra learn-to-swim programs at school. Given the higher drowning risk among disadvantaged children, evaluating these interventions is essential. Aquatic Literacy offers a framework to assess aquatic competencies related to safe and sustainable engagement in aquatic (AL) environments. Before the implementation of program related to Olympic Legacy (2017), the success rate of children from SSD (Seine-Saint-Denis) on the national "Can Swim" test was much lower than their French counterparts (70% vs. 90%). Recently, the ALFAC test battery was developed to compare the Aquatic Literacy of youngs, encompassing: prior aquatic experiences, aquatic motor skills, psychosocial skills (motivation, enjoyment, and willingness to practice aquatic activities), and cognitive skills (knowledge of safety rules and risks). Aim: This study aims to compare the level of AL in SSD children (exposure to Paris 2024 Olympic legacy programs) vs. French children (no exposure to Paris 2024 Olympic legacy programs) in 2025, after the implementation of Olympic Legacy programs. Methods: The sample was made of 506 French pupils aged 6-12 years with 237 children from SSD (exposure to Olympic Legacy programs) and 269 (without exposure to Olympic Legacy programs). The children were matched with regard to similar socioeconomic statuses of their parents. Children were assessed using the ALFAC test battery, including questionnaire measuring prior aquatic experiences, psychosocial competencies and an aquatic motor tasks test measuring the motor domain of AL. Generalized linear models were applied to test sex, age group, and region effects on each dimension. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons and effect sizes were measured. Results: Age effects were significant across all tasks, with steady improvement from 6-7 to 10-11 years, while sex effects were minimal. This is showing that motor development trajectories were similar across regions when socio-economic status was controlled. Psychosocial results showed high and consistent levels of motivation, enjoyment, and interest in aquatic activities across all groups, with no major differences by sex, age, or region. However, confidence in deep-water environments and risk perception remained low and showed little improvement with age, indicating persistent safety-related gaps in both regions. However, no significant differences in aquatic motor skills were found between regions. This is demonstrating that the implementation of legacy programs has somehow allowed children from SSD to close the `gap` observed in 2017 with their French counterparts. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of Olympic legacy programs in reducing territorial disparities regarding swimming competency. These findings highlight the need to strengthen educational strategies, including earlier exposure, increased instructional time, improved teacher training, while placing a stronger focus on safety-oriented aquatic skills to enhance drowning prevention among the most at-risk populations (i.e., disadvantaged populations lacking free access to learn-to-swim programs).
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