Anyone could have predicted it would happen. Despite a $1.5 billion effort to clean up the river Seine to make it safe enough to swim in, at least three Olympic athletes have had to quit the games after coming down with infections from the polluted river.
On August 5, Claire Michel of Belgium and two other athletes left the games after becoming violently sick with infections they believe came from the polluted river that bisects Paris. Michel and two Swiss athletes quit their mixed-team relay race.
Belgian press is reporting that Michel has suffered from an E. coli bacterial infection and had been hospitalized in France. She did return to the games, but the entire Belgian team had to forfeit because of her withdrawal from the event.
The Belgian Olympic Committee and the organization representing the Belgian Triathlon released a joint statement about the issue, heavily implying that choosing the Seine for aquatic events was an unwise move. The statement, using the passive voice so as to avoid the perception of anyone being responsible for the decision, said it hopes “lessons will be learned.”
Committees were not the only ones objecting. Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen said she swam in the river and was disgusted with its condition, especially after accidentally swallowing some river water. She said he “felt and saw things” that did not bear thinking about. The water certainly did not “taste like Coca Cola,” said Vermeylen.
On Saturday, August 3, the Swiss Olympic Team said it was pulling triathlete Adrien Briffod because of an unspecified gastric ailment. While the team did not directly blame the Seine for the sickness, it seems a reasonable assumption.
Briffod’s backup, Simon Westermann, is what is known as a “reserve Olympian,” like an understudy in a theater play. The Swiss man was set to step up for his stricken teammate when he came down with symptoms that sounded exactly the same.
The Seine’s pollution has been well-known, and the river has been off-limits to swimmers because of it since 1923.
