Two athletes have been hospitalised after swimming in the River Seine as the water quality of the river has been the talk of the town ever since the commencement of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
As per a media report, Switzerland’s Adrien Briffod got ill after the men’s triathlon last week. Switzerland were forced to revise their mixed relay lineup twice as two of their athletes faced gastrointestinal infections after training in the river.
Belgium’s Claire Michel withdrew from the tournament after she was hospitalised with the suspicion of contracting E.coli infection. However, it has now been confirmed that she did not contract such an infection.
The Associated Press further reported that a female triathlete from Sweden and a men’s triathlete from Norway fell ill after they competed in their respective individual events last week. However, it is yet to be known if the illness was caused by Seine’s water quality.
"The BOIC and Belgian Triathlon hope that lessons will be learned for future triathlon competitions. We are thinking of training days that can be guaranteed, competition days and formats that are clear in advance and circumstances that do not lead to uncertainty among athletes, entourage and fans," the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee said in a statement.
Two more Olympic events are to be held at the Seine, the women’s marathon swim is scheduled for Thursday while the men’s marathon swim is to take place on Friday.
It is worth mentioning that on July 17, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, along with Paris 2024 chief organiser Tony Estanguet, swam in the Seine after which she said, “The Seine is exquisite. The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not so bad.''
To clean up the river by improving the Paris sewerage system along with building new water treatment and storage facilities, the French authorities have spent around 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the last decade.
