SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- A athlete The Olympian vomited 10 times shortly after finishing the men’s triathlon on the Seine on Wednesday, postponed due to river water pollution.
The test, scheduled for Tuesday, July 30, was postponed because the authorities considered that the water was “too contaminated,” according to the sports site. ESPN.
This Wednesday morning, July 31, the green light was given to the triathlon but unfortunately one athlete sick shortly after finishing.
Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk, 29, who finished ninth, said after the race: “I didn’t come here to finish in the top 10, but I gave it my all. I went for it, I have no regrets, I threw up 10 times.” Although sports authorities have not confirmed whether the vomiting was caused by the quality of the river water, it came amid serious concerns for the health of athletes competing in the Seine.
You #Triathlon ça demande de sacrés efforts pic.twitter.com/0Ajve53sxr
— Alex R (@TwDead95) July 31, 2024
Before Wednesday’s triathlon, organizers said the evidence The men’s and women’s races had only a 60% chance of taking place because the water in the Seine River was not clean enough.
The French government has spent 1.4 billion euros trying to transform the Seine into a waterway that does not make athletes sick.
Despite their efforts, the event had to be postponed. World Triathlon said in a statement: “Following a meeting on water quality held on 30 July at 3:30am attended by Paris 2024, representatives of World Triathlon and its Technical and Medical Delegates, the International Olympic Committee, Météo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region involved in carrying out water quality testing, the decision has been taken to postpone the men’s triathlon event which was due to take place on 30 July at 8am.”
One athlete went so far as to say that he had resorted to not washing his hands to boost his immunity before the race. “In preparation for this race, I knew there was going to be some exposure to E. coli. So I’ve been trying to increase my E. coli threshold by exposing myself to a little bit of E. coli in everyday life,” said American Seth Rider.
Bacteria in the Seine
For months, the French have been testing river samples for E. coli and enterococci, indicators of fecal matter, as well as other pathogens. When E. coli levels are high, bathers risk contracting gastrointestinal illnesses.
According to ESPN, due to the rain that fell on Friday and Saturday in Paris, the sewers overflowed and poured into the river without passing through the treatment plants, causing contamination by fecal bacteria.
According to The Conversationtriathlon athletes could “suffer gastrointestinal symptoms, eye and skin infections and respiratory diseases.”
“The risk to athletes is increased by immune system suppression, which can result from intensive competition and training,” wrote Jamie Wilks, a PhD candidate in Sport Ecology, and Lois Mougin, a specialist in Exercise and Environmental Physiology at Loughborough University.
