Belgium withdraws from mixed relay triathlon after Seine River swimmer comes down with E.coli

After days worth of delays there were concerns about the cleanliness of the Seine River for swimmers, and now it appears those concerns were extremely well-founded.

Belgium has withdrawn from the mixed relay triathlon race on Monday after losing a swimmer to a bacterial infection.

Claire Michel of Belgium came down sick after swimming in the Seine in the women’s triathlon on Wednesday. She finished that event in 38th place.

Worse, her illness would sideline her for the rest of the Olympics. According to journalist Tim Heming of triathlete.com, the Belgian press is reporting that Michel has E.coli and that the Belgians will withdraw from the mixed team relay because they do not have a named female reserve for the event.

“The BOIC and Belgian Triathlon must unfortunately announce that the ‘Belgian Hammers’ will not be starting the mixed relay at the Paris Olympic Games tomorrow,” read a Belgian statement, via the New York Post. “The decision, like this communication, was taken in consultation with the athletes and their entourage.

“Claire Michel, a member of the relay, is unfortunately ill and must withdraw from the competition.”

There were signs of trouble early on, as the river wasn’t ready when initially scheduled, despite 1.5 billion Euros spent to try to clean it up in time.

The men’s triathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was suspended when it was clear conditions in the Seine River still weren’t up to snuff.

Weather also played a part, as days of heavy rain made it more difficult to clear the bacteria levels from the Seine River. Still, Paris officials were confident the river would eventually clear up.

“There are unfortunate meteorological events outside of our control,” Aurélie Merle, the Paris 2024 director of sports, said in a statement. “But otherwise the project is still very strong. When we see the impact on the quality and the legacy that we can leave also to the Parisians, we all feel extremely proud of what we’ve done so far.”

In any case, the unsafe conditions are a bit of a black eye on what has otherwise been a terrific set of Olympic Games in France.