PARIS — The Belgian Olympic Committee announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing its team from the mixed relay triathlon at the Paris Olympics after one of its competitors swam. in the river Seine he got sick
Claire Michel, who competed in the Women’s Triathlon Wednesday, “He is unfortunately ill and will have to withdraw from the competition,” the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee said in a statement.
Paris 2024 organizers did not have an immediate statement on Michel’s illness, but said in a statement Sunday night that the mixed relay triathlon would proceed on Monday at 8 p.m.
The statement of the Belgian committee did not elaborate on the illness of Michel, but it comes after the concerns about the illness. the quality of the river water. Organizers had said water quality tests carried out on the day of the individual triathlon races showed “very good” levels of bacteria.
On Sunday evening, representatives of the World Triathlon and the International Olympic Committee together with the organizers of the Paris Games and the regional and meteorological authorities examined the water tests. The results indicate that the water quality in the triathlon site has improved in the last hours and would be within the limits sent by the World Triathlon.
Daily water quality tests measure the levels of faecal bacteria, including E. coli, in the waters of the Seine. World Triathlon water safety lines and a 2006 directive of the European Union assign qualitative values to a variety of levels of E. coli.
Under World Triathlon guidelines, E. coli levels of up to 1,000 colony forming units per 100 milliliters can be considered “good” and can allow competitions to go ahead.
The World Triathlon Medical Committee said it will consider water quality analysis, health inspection and weather forecast when deciding whether to go ahead with a race. Decisions are usually made in early morning meetings on the day of the event. But announcing on Sunday evening that the race would take place on Monday, the organizers said they would respond to the athletes’ requests to give them more time to prepare.
Before the individual triathlon events, water quality problems prompted organizers to cancel the swimming portion of two test races intended to allow athletes to familiarize themselves with the course and also to delay the men’s one-day race. Swimming tests in the Seine scheduled for Saturday and Sunday before the mixed triathlon relay have also been canceled because of the bacteria levels in the water.
The Belgian committee said that “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 athletes, entourage and supporters.
Swiss officials said Saturday that triathlete Adrien Briffod, who also competed in the Seine on Wednesday, he got sick with a stomach infection. But they said it was “impossible to say” if it was related to the swimming and that other delegations told them that none of their triathletes reported stomach problems.
Swiss officials said in an update on Sunday that Simon Westermann, who had been tapped to replace Briffod, also had to withdraw due to a gastrointestinal infection. Westermann had not participated in any swimming in the Seine, the statement said. The Swiss team is also scheduled to compete in the mixed relay on Monday.
Norwegian triathlete Vetle Bergsvik Thorn fell ill one day after competing in the men’s triathlon. Thorn told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he woke up the next day with a sick stomach and was vomiting, but thought the likely cause was food poisoning. He said he felt better later that day and planned to compete again in the medley relay scheduled for Monday.
Arild Tveiten, the sports director of the Norwegian Triathlon Federation, said that the cause of Thorn’s illness was not clear.
“We think what everyone is thinking: 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 leans towards the possibility of food poisoning. That’s what the symptoms suggest.”
Marathon swimming events are arranged in the Seine on Thursday and Friday.
Five of the eight swimmers in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle on Sunday night have been listed to enter the 10-kilometer marathon.
Bronze medalist Daniel Wiffen of Ireland, who won an earlier gold in the 800 free, said he would not train ahead of time in the Seine: “I don’t want to try to deal with any illness.”
He said he will instead train in pools around Paris, even if it means “going to hell”.
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Associated Press reporters Karl Ritter and Janie McCauley contributed to the report.
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