Following the triathlon events on Wednesday, July 31st, two athletes fell ill. Their illness prevented them from taking part in subsequent events—keeping Olympic use of the Seine in the news for all the wrong reasons.
The Belgian press has revealed that Claire Michel, a Belgian swimmer, was infected with E. coli bacteria while swimming in the river and has been in hospital for several days. As a result, she is unable to continue competing, putting her team, the Belgian Hammers—who were counting on her for the mixed triathlon relay that was due to take place on Monday, August 5th—at risk. The Belgian Hammers have cancelled their final training session and have withdrawn from the race.
The Belgian Olympic Committee was quick to point the finger of blame at the organisers in a statement published on Sunday, August 4th:
The COIB and Belgian Triathlon hope that lessons will be learned for future triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games. We are thinking here of the guarantee of training days, competition days and the format of the competitions, which must be clarified in advance and ensure that there is no uncertainty for the athletes, entourage and supporters.
Another athlete currently in poor health is Switzerland’s Adrien Brifford, who is suffering from gastroenteritis. For the moment, its link with his swim in the Seine has not been clearly established, but the nature of his illness raises questions, since gastric problems are the initial symptoms of an E. coli bacterial infection. The Swiss Olympic team’s head doctor remains cautious, stating that he has not observed an abnormal rate of gastrointestinal illness among the athletes who swam in the Seine. Nevertheless, Brifford accidentally swallowed river water during the race after being hit by a competitor.
Physically impaired, Brifford announced that he would not be taking part in the mixed relay race on August 5th, a discipline in which Switzerland currently ranks second in the world.
