A Belgian triathlete has attacked Olympic organizers for allowing athletes to compete in the “dirty” river Seine, saying she had “felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much” in the Paris waters.
“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 bullshit!” Jolien Vermeylen reportedly told Belgian TV channel VTM after finishing 24th in Wednesday’s women’s race.
The 30-year-old described how she felt things in the water during her 1500-meter swim that kicked off the race before cycling and running legs through central Paris.
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“While swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much,” said Vermeylen, according to Metro.
Race organizers were forced to cancel training runs and it looked like they might have to call off the swim leg altogether after torrential rains swept millions of gallons of wastewater and sewage into the river. Testing revealed unacceptably high levels of E. coli and other bacteria, but the water quality eventually improved enough for racing to go ahead.
Vermeylen admitted that she had swallowed a lot of water despite plans not to do so.
“We’ll know tomorrow if I’m sick or not,” she said. “It doesn’t taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite, of course.”
“I took probiotics, I drank my Yakult, I couldn’t do more. I had the idea of not drinking water, but yes, it failed.”
