Belgium withdraws from mixed relay triathlon after athlete who swam in Seine falls ill

PARIS (AP) — The Belgian Olympic Committee announced Sunday that it is withdrawing its team from the mixed relay triathlon at the Paris Olympics after one of the participants fell ill while swimming in the Seine River.

Claire Michel, who took part in the women’s triathlon on Wednesday, “is unfortunately ill and will have to withdraw from the competition,” the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee said in a statement.

Paris 2024 organizers declined to comment on Michel’s illness, but said in a statement Sunday night that the mixed relay triathlon would go ahead at 8 a.m. Monday. The swimming leg of the race is scheduled for the Seine.

The Belgian committee’s statement did not address Michel’s illness, but came after concerns were raised about the river’s water quality. Organisers had said water quality tests conducted on the day of the individual triathlon races showed “very good” bacteria levels.

On Sunday evening, representatives from World Triathlon and the International Olympic Committee, along with Paris Games organizers and regional and weather authorities, reviewed water tests. The results indicated that water quality at the triathlon venue had improved in the past few hours and would fall within World Triathlon’s prescribed limits.

Daily water quality tests measure the levels of fecal bacteria, including E. coli, in the Seine’s waters. World Triathlon’s water safety guidelines and a 2006 European Union directive assign qualitative values ​​to a range of E. coli levels.

According to World Triathlon guidelines, E. coli levels up to 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters can be considered “good” and competitions can proceed.

The World Triathlon medical commission said it takes into account water quality analysis, sanitary inspections and the weather forecast when determining whether a race will go ahead. Decisions are generally made during early-morning meetings on the day of the event. But in announcing Sunday night that the race would go ahead on Monday, organizers said they were responding to requests from athletes to give them more time to prepare.

In the run-up to the individual triathlon events, concerns about water quality led organizers to cancel the swim portion of two test runs, which were meant to familiarize athletes with the course, and also to postpone the men’s race by a day. Test swims in the Seine scheduled for Saturday and Sunday before the mixed triathlon relay were also canceled due to bacteria levels in the water.

The Belgian committee said it “hopes 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 competition format, which must be clarified in advance and ensure that there is no uncertainty for the athletes, entourage and supporters.”

Swiss officials said Saturday that triathlete Adrien Briffod, who also competed in the Seine on Wednesday, had fallen ill with a stomach infection. But they said it was “impossible to say” whether it was related to the swim and that the other delegations had told them that none of their triathletes had reported stomach problems.

Swiss officials said in an update Sunday that Simon Westermann, who had been brought in to replace Briffod, had also had to withdraw due to a gastrointestinal infection. Westermann had not competed in the Seine River swimming events, the statement said. The Swiss team still planned to compete in the mixed relay on Monday.

Norwegian triathlete Vetle Bergsvik Thorn fell ill a day after competing in the men’s triathlon. Thorn told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he woke up the next day with an upset stomach and vomiting, but thought the likely cause was food poisoning. He said he felt better later that day and planned to compete again in the mixed relay scheduled for Monday.

According to Arild Tveiten, sports director of the Norwegian Triathlon Federation, the cause of Thorn’s illness is unclear.

We think what everyone thinks: that it’s probably the river. But we don’t know. It could be the river, it could be the chicken, Tveiten told NRK. “The doctor is leaning towards the possibility of food poisoning. That’s what the symptoms suggest.”

On Thursday and Friday, marathon swimming competitions will be held in the Seine.

Five of the eight swimmers who completed the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle on Sunday evening were on the list for the 10-kilometer marathon.

Bronze medallist Daniel Wiffen of Ireland, who previously won gold in the 800m freestyle, said he would not train in the Seine beforehand: “I don’t want to deal with any illness.”

He said he would instead train in swimming pools around Paris, even if it meant going “blind.”