Belgium withdrew from Monday’s mixed relay triathlon race after conditions in the Seine River caused one of their athletes to be swept away by flowing waters.
Belgian athlete Claire Michel fell ill after swimming in a river in central Paris during the women’s triathlon on Wednesday and finished in 38th place.
“The BOIC and the Belgian Triathlon Association must unfortunately announce that the Belgian Hammers will not be competing in tomorrow’s mixed relay at the Paris Olympic Games,” a statement from the country read. “This decision, as well as this communication, was taken in consultation with the athletes and their representatives.”
“Relay athlete Claire Michelle unfortunately has to withdraw from the competition due to illness.”
The statement also called out the IOC and Paris organisers for preventing such problems from happening again in future Olympic Games.
“COIB and the Belgian Triathlon Association hope that lessons learned can be applied to future Olympic triathlon competitions, such as guarantees of training days, competition days and competition format, providing clarity up front to ensure there is no uncertainty for athletes and support personnel.”
2024 Paris Olympics
Belgian athlete Jorien Vermeilen also slammed the officials at the start of Friday’s triathlon competition.
“While I was swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that I shouldn’t have thought too much about,” she said. “I’ll find out tomorrow if I’m sick,” she said. “It certainly doesn’t taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite.”
Unfortunately, Belgium is not the only country where athletes have fallen ill: Swiss swimmers have also fallen ill, forcing them to change their triathlon relay roster.
Switzerland’s Adrian Briford was replaced by Simon Westermann with a gastrointestinal infection, but it was unclear whether the infection was related to the swim in the Seine, Switzerland’s chief Olympic medical officer Hanspeter Betschart said.
“Surveys among colleagues in other countries have so far not found any accumulation of gastrointestinal illnesses among athletes who competed in the individual events last Wednesday,” Betchart said.
