Belgium has withdrawn from the Olympic mixed relay triathlon at Paris 2024 due to an illness affecting one of their athletes.
Claire Michel, who participated in the women’s triathlon on Wednesday and finished 38th, has reportedly fallen ill, prompting the Belgian Olympic Committee (COIB) to pull out of the relay event. De Standaard, a prominent Belgian newspaper, has suggested that Michel may have contracted E. coli, though BBC Sport has not yet confirmed this information.
The poor water quality of the Seine River has been a significant concern leading up to and during the Paris 2024 Olympics. This issue led to the postponement of the men’s triathlon by a day and delayed the practice swim for the mixed relay twice. The mixed relay triathlon was scheduled to take place on Monday morning, but the delay in the water quality assessment has raised concerns about the event’s readiness.
The Belgian Olympic Committee has not disclosed the specific details of Michel’s illness, stating that the decision to withdraw was made “in consultation with the athletes and the entourage.” The COIB expressed hopes that the situation will lead to valuable lessons for future triathlon events.
Ahead of the Olympic triathlon, daily tests on the Seine’s water quality were conducted. The river is also set to host the Olympic marathon swimming events on August 8 and 9, as well as the Para-triathlon during the Paralympics starting August 28. The Seine had been off-limits for swimming for over a century due to pollution concerns, but French authorities have invested significantly in cleaning it up. Approximately 1.4 billion euros (about £1.2 billion) have been spent on the river’s regeneration to ensure it is swimmable as part of the Games’ legacy.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo recently swam in the Seine to showcase the cleanup efforts. Earlier this month, tests indicated that the river was sufficiently clean for swimming. However, heavy rainfall on the first Friday and Saturday of the Olympics led to a temporary decline in water quality, though the individual triathlon races went ahead as scheduled.
For the mixed relay event on Monday, Team GB has selected Alex Yee, the men’s gold medalist, alongside Georgia Taylor-Brown, Sam Dickinson, and Beth Potter, who won bronze in the women’s triathlon. Should the water quality be deemed unsuitable on Monday, the relay race can be rescheduled to Tuesday.
