Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen has revealed what it’s actually like to swim in the River Seine at Paris 2024.
The famous landmark has been at the centre of controversy at this Games, with the men’s triathlon final having to be postponed by a day this week.
This was due to high levels of pollution in the water after heavy rainfall on Friday.
There had been fears the event would even have to change to an unprecedented duathlon if the water was too dangerous to swim in.
Both the men’s and women’s triathlons went ahead on Wednesday in the end – but one athlete has complained about the conditions.
Speaking to VTM, Belgium’s Vermeylen, who came in 24th, said: “I drank a lot of water, so we’ll know tomorrow if I’m sick or not.
“It doesn’t taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite, of course.
“While swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much.
“The Seine has been dirty for a hundred years, so they can’t say that the safety of the athletes is a priority. That’s bulls***!”
The Seine has been closed off to the public for swimming for 100 years due to it being deemed unsafe to swim in.
France have flushed away a whopping £1.2 billion in an effort to get it cleaned up for the Games.
A statement from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon ahead of the race stated: “Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes.”
But Vermeylen admitted she had to take precautions to ensure she didn’t get ill from the water.
She said: “If the race hadn’t taken place, it would have been a disgrace for the organisation, for Paris, for France.
“It was now or never, and they couldn’t cancel the race completely either.
“Now they just have to hope that there won’t be too many sick athletes. I took pro-biotics, I drank my Yakult, I couldn’t do more.
“I had the idea of not drinking water, but yes, it failed. Just like I had the idea of not falling but that failed too.”
Men’s triathlete Tyler Mislawchuk from Canada vomited 10 times during the event, but it is not clear if this was due to having to swim in the water.
Meanwhile, other Belgian triathlete Marten Van Riel stated the event should have been moved from the Seine a long time ago and that competitors felt like ‘puppets in a puppet show’.
In the women’s event, Team GB’s Beth Potter won the bronze in the event with a time of 1:55:10.
Later on, British triathlete Alex Yee pulled off an incredible late charge to pick up gold in the men’s event.
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News Summary:
- Olympic triathlete ‘felt and saw things’ she ‘doesn’t want to think about’ in River Seine
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