Olympic mixed relay triathlon proceeds in Seine River despite athletes falling ill

Despite concerns over water quality in the Seine River and some competitors falling ill after competitions last week, the mixed relay triathlon went forward at the Paris Olympics on Monday.

After days of delays, the men’s and women’s triathlons plunged into the Seine last week, but the mixed relay triathlon also had a rough lead-up. The Belgian team announced Sunday that it would withdraw from the event after one of its triathletes, Claire Michel, fell ill days after competing in the individual triathlon event. Michel’s illness was not specified by the Belgian team.

Belgium’s National Olympic Committee announced the withdrawal in a statement on Sunday, saying the decision was made in consultation with its athletes and officials, and it urged organizers to take lessons from how the triathlons at the Paris Olympics have been conducted.

The statement specifically mentioned the schedule for training days and competitions. Prior to the individual events last week, two training sessions were canceled due to unsafe conditions in the Seine River, and the men’s event was postponed one day.

The Swiss triathlon team also had problems with one of its athletes falling ill, opting to reshuffle its team rather than withdraw from the event.

Swiss triathlete Adrien Briffod was initially replaced by Simon Westermann after coming down with a stomach infection, which officials said was “impossible to say” if it was linked to his swim in the Seine River last week. Swiss officials later announced that Westermann had also fallen ill with a stomach infection, and he was replaced by Sylvain Fridelance.

Late Sunday, Paris Olympic organizers released a statement saying water tests for the Seine River had indicated that “water quality will be within the levels acceptable by World Triathlon” and that the decision was made “to go ahead with the competition.”

In the mixed relay triathlon, Germany won the gold medal, followed by the United States with the silver medal, and Great Britain with the bronze. The end of the event, the running portion of the triathlon, included a close finish that saw the U.S. narrowly edge out Great Britain for second place.

The next events scheduled to take place in the Seine River are the marathon swimming races, with the women scheduled to plunge into the river on Thursday and the men scheduled to take the plunge on Friday.

Paris officials spent $1.5 billion to clean up the Seine River in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics, only seven years after landing the Games. The river had not been swimmable in more than 100 years.

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are through Sunday, when, at the closing ceremony, Los Angeles, California, will receive the Olympic Flag as it prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, marking the first time the U.S. will host the Summer Games since Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996.