The historic use of the Seine River in this year’s Olympic Games is becoming a nightmare after multiple athletes were hospitalized.
After delays due to high E. coli levels in the river, officials said it was safe enough for triathletes to swim in the Seine last week.
But Belgium’s Claire Michel was hospitalized for multiple days following the women’s race., forcing her nation to withdraw from the mixed triathlon relay. Switzerland’s Adrien Brifford says he was also seriously ill after the men’s race.
The athletes were some of the first in the Seine after Paris spent a billion dollars on cleaning up the polluted river – a critical element of the city’s winning bid for the 2024 Olympics. Swimming in the river has been banned for the past hundred years.
Game administrators maintain the water quality is safe and that the 10-kilometer open water swims will be held tomorrow and Friday.