Hello everyone. We’ve got some drama from the Olympic triathlon scene! Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen did not hold back in sharing her nightmare experience of swimming in the Seine River, calling out officials who claimed the polluted water was safe for competition.
Vermeylen, competing in the women’s triathlon, had a lot to say about the conditions. “While swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much,” she told Flemish TV channel VTM. She finished in 24th place, but not without concerns about the water she swallowed during the race. “We’ll know tomorrow if I’m sick or not,” she remarked, noting that the taste was far from pleasant.
Despite reassurances from officials that the water was clean enough for competition, there were reports of high levels of E. coli and other bacteria. June tests revealed that E. coli levels were 10 times above acceptable limits, according to CBS News. For those who don’t know, E. coli is often linked to fecal matter and can cause a range of nasty illnesses, from diarrhea to sepsis.
An Olympic competitor jumps into the River Seine in Paris
Notice the colour of the water when the competitor jumps, the reason for this colour is that sewage is drained into the river☹️ #Olimpiadas2024 pic.twitter.com/2tWaZQHQSb
— FA (@Sy1889) July 28, 2024
The women dove into the water after a green light from officials, despite the fact that training events had been canceled and the men’s triathlon postponed due to poor water quality. Vermeylen called out these officials for endangering the athletes. “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–t!” she declared.
The first swimmer emerging from the Seine river, in the Triathlon, stated the water quality was actually not that bad! #Olympics #Olympics2024 #Triathlon pic.twitter.com/d9M2Ab45lF
— Marc Bernard 🟦⬜️ (@marc_bernard77) July 31, 2024
She had even tried to protect herself by taking probiotics and drinking Yakult but still ended up ingesting river water. “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,” she added.
To swim or not to swim—— THATS THE QUESTION.
The river Seine clean up looks to be unsuccessful.
Due to that the triathlon has been postponed——#Olympics pic.twitter.com/DYxWa2rSpe
— Bradley Warren (@bradmwarren) July 30, 2024
Ultimately, France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and Britain’s Alex Yee took home the gold medals in their respective races. But the lingering question remains: was the Seine really ready for such a high-stakes competition?
Stay tuned for more as this story develops and we see if any athletes report illness from their dip in the Seine!
