Athletes competing in the triathlon event at the 2024 Paris Olympics were vomiting after their race in the Seine River, sparking continued concerns about the river’s water quality.
According to the New York Post, Tyler Mislawchuk, a Canadian participating in the triathlon at the Paris Olympics, vomited ten times after finishing the race. This incident was broadcast globally in real-time via cameras.
Following heavy rain on the opening ceremony day, untreated sewage flowed into the Seine, exacerbating water quality issues. This sparked significant controversy and rescheduled training and competition schedules for the men’s triathlon.
It remains uncertain whether the athletes’ vomiting was due to water quality concerns or extreme fatigue, though vomiting is not uncommon in physically demanding triathlon events.
The World Triathlon Federation established competition standards in 2006, stipulating that E. coli levels should not exceed 1,000 per 100 ml and enterococci levels should be below 400 per 100 ml. Swimming in water surpassing these limits can lead to illnesses like gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, otitis externa, and skin conditions.
Swimming in the Seine has been prohibited for over a century. In preparation for the Olympics, Paris invested €1.5 billion (approximately $2.24 billion) in a river purification project starting in 2015.
Initially, the Olympic Committee announced that if the water quality of the Seine River did not meet standards, the triathlon would be converted to a duathlon without the swimming segment. However, they later confirmed that the water quality met standards and proceeded as planned with the triathlon, drawing criticism from participating athletes.
Spanish athlete Miriam Casillas criticized event organizers in an interview with the Spanish media outlet Marca. She stated that the organizers prioritized the Seine as a venue without considering the well-being of the athletes. As a physician, she added that if the organizers cared about the participants’ health, there should have been a contingency plan rather than using the Seine. Seth Ryder from the U.S. team also condemned the decision to host the event in the Seine. He noted that upon arriving in Paris, he purposely refrained from washing his hands and did not wash them even after using the restroom to adjust to E. coli.
Meanwhile, on the Seine River, the mixed relay triathlon is scheduled for the 5th, followed by the marathon swimming events on the 8th and 9th. The Olympic Committee announced that the marathon swimming venue might be relocated to the canoeing venue depending on the Seine’s water quality.
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