Belgian triathlete 'sick' after Olympic race in Seine, competition to go ahead as scheduled

Belgian triathlete Claire Michel is “sick” after taking part in the women’s individual Olympic triathlon which included a swimming leg in the River Seine, the Belgian National Olympic Committee (COIB) said Sunday.

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“The COIB and Belgian Triathlon hope that the lessons will be learned for future triathlon competitions at the Olympics,” the committee said in a statement.

Michel finished 38th in the race, won by Cassandre Beaugrand of France.

As a result of her illness, the Belgian team will not take part in the mixed triathlon event which will go ahead as scheduled on Monday.

Problems with the water quality of the Seine had marred the run-up to the competition.

Organisers have been forced to cancel training sessions and postponed the men’s race for 24 hours after the Seine was found to be too dirty for athletes following rainstorms.

In the end, the women’s and men’s races both took place on Wednesday.

Race to go ahead

Organisers confirmed that the triathlon mixed relay will go ahead as planned.

“The latest test results confirm that the water quality of the Seine at the triathlon site has improved over the last hours, and the prospective tests indicate the water quality will be within the acceptable limits according to World Triathlon,” Paris Games organisers said in a statement on Sunday.

A decision was initially due to be made overnight Sunday to Monday based on bacteriological results from 24 hours before, but it was brought forward at the request of the triathlon teams to allow athletes more time to prepare.