No one ever wants to get food poisoning, but if anyone has a right to complain, it’s UK track and field sensation Greg Rutherford.
On what was supposed to be his first day at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Rutherford found himself bed-and-bathroom-bound. Posting on social media, Rutherford said he had contracted food poisoning from something he ate the night before, which made day one “horrendously bad.”
He said he had been “projectile vomiting” between getting in and out of bed to record interviews. The retired athlete racked up medals at past Olympics, and had been a favorite on the show Dancing On Ice until he had to pull out due to tearing his abdominal muscles during a rehearsal. He is at the Paris games as a presenter, but it’s unclear when he’ll be able to resume his duties.
Rutherford has been unlucky for the past several years. In addition to his abdominal injury that forced him to quit ITV’s Dancing On Ice, he came down with whooping cough while he was recovering from the injury. Then last month, a freak accident in his home terrified his children and left him shaken—a huge glass skylight exploded for no apparent reason, raining down shards of glass on Rutherford’s kids who had been seated below the window.
His son Milo was especially lucky, Rutherford said. The boy was seated and doing homework in what would turn out to be a particularly dangerous spot when the window later exploded. But Rutherford thought it was time for his son to get some fresh air, so he told Milo to “go out on the deck, mate.”
If he hadn’t prodded his son to move, he said, “I can’t even imagine what could have happened.”
Food poisoning is a relatively common, but always unwelcome ailment. Mild cases usually cause vomiting and diarrhea, which are unpleasant even in the least virulent episodes. But some cases of food poisoning cause such severe symptoms that sufferers quickly dehydrate and may become unable to walk or even keep down a glass of water.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that 48 million Americans—1 in 6 people—will come down with food poisoning every year. While most recover, 3,000 sufferers die annually.
