Olympic swimmers may have found a cure to combat the E. coli contamination of the Seine, one of the biggest talking points of the 2024 Paris Olympics: Coca-Cola cans.
Several world-class athletes swear that the sugary soda helps ward off germs and infections they may pick up while competing in the open ocean.
“There’s no harm in having a Coke after a race,” said New Zealand’s Ainsley Thorpe. The Wall Street Journal After the women’s triathlon last week. “If you Google it, it says it’s helpful.”
Doctors say there is no medical evidence that Coca-Cola is a gastrointestinal cure-all, but many athletes still seek advice from experts around Paris.
“The Coca-Cola myth is true,” says Australian marathon swimmer Moesha Johnson. “We often drink Coca-Cola after a race to help flush it out.”
Olympians are also taking a probiotic cocktail before and after races to combat pollution in Paris’ rivers.
“I took probiotics and drank Yakult, but nothing more,” Belgian triathlete Jorien Vermeilen said after a race on July 31. “I also had the idea of not drinking water, but that certainly didn’t work.”
The irony, Vermeilen said, is that the Seine “certainly doesn’t taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite.”
Dr. Maria Abreu, president of the American College of Gastroenterology, said cola probably wouldn’t have much of an effect on Olympic athletes’ guts.
“These are young, athletic people. They’re going to be healthy people with good stomach acid,” Abreu said.
Other athletes treat soda like an energy drink to replenish sugar lost during competition, as each 12-ounce can contains 39 grams of sweet soda, or about 10 teaspoons.
“My coach advised me to [drink Coca-Cola] “To quickly restore glycogen levels,” American Katie Grimes told the outlet, “No diet coke, just regular coke. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
1 video posted USA Swimming After qualifying for the Paris Olympics in July 2023, Grimes was photographed holding a bottle of Coca-Cola.
The 18-year-old from Las Vegas has already won a silver medal in the women’s 400-meter individual medley and is scheduled to jump into the Seine River on Thursday morning to compete in the women’s 10-kilometer marathon.
2024 Paris Olympics
Former U.S. national open water swimmer Emily Crews shared similar thoughts about the soda, saying she grew tired of Gatorade and craved soda during races.
She also preferred harder liquids.
“I’ve heard that if you drink Jägermeister, it kills everything in your stomach,” Crews told The Wall Street Journal.
Thursday’s race was given the go-ahead by Olympic officials after water quality tests met standards.
Several tours of the Seine were cancelled after the water failed tests.
Training for the August 6 marathon swim was cancelled this week after levels of enterococcus – a bacteria found in human waste – exceeded World Aquatics’ acceptable standards.
The men’s individual triathlon was postponed for several days after rain during the opening ceremony caused sewage to flow into the river, resulting in high E. coli levels.
Ahead of the Olympics, authorities have embarked on an ambitious $1.5 billion plan to improve infrastructure to clean up the Seine, which has long been polluted.
Several athletes fell ill after the individual triathlon.
Switzerland made changes to its roster for the mixed relay on Monday after Belgian and Swiss athletes fell ill, forcing Belgium to withdraw from the race.
“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.”
It is not clear whether the water in the Seine was the cause of the illness.
