The mixed triathlon races restarted this morning in Paris despite the news, leaked by the Belgian Olympic Committee in the last few hours, according to which one of the Belgian athletes, Claire Michel, fell ill after diving into the SeineThe athlete, who finished in 38th place in the women’s triathlon last Wednesday he would have contracted an intestinal infection.
Belgium has withdrawn its team from the mixed triathlon competition. Claire Michel, 35, “was contaminated by the Escherichia coli bacterium,” according to the Belgian press, although the direct link with the race she competed in remains to be determined. The athlete, who complains of stomach and intestinal problems, has been hospitalized for 4 days.
In the statement, the Belgian Committee said it “hopes,” along with the national federation, “that the appropriate consequences will be drawn for the next triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games.” “Thank you for all the nice messages you sent me. I have been treated well and will recover. However, I am devastated for the team and I am sorry to end the Games like this.” This is Michel’s message.
A Swiss athlete, who had dived into the Seine for the men’s triathlon last Wednesday, also has symptoms of gastroenteritis, but his Olympic Committee – unlike the Belgian one – has not withdrawn the athletes from this morning’s race because doctors do not believe there is a clear cause-effect link between the race and the onset of symptoms. The person who complained of symptoms, we learn from Swiss sources, was Adrien Briffordwho came in 49th and – at one point in the race – ended up under water after hitting a colleague. Brifford himself does not blame the pollution of the Seine: “I honestly don’t know if my condition is linked to the quality of the water in the Seine,” Brifford told the Swiss website 20minutes.ch, “although the question arises.” The Swiss team doctor, also quoted by the website, Hanspeter Betschart, says he is unable to establish a link between the athlete’s gastroenteritis and the race: “a survey I conducted with my colleagues from other countries has not, at the moment, revealed any intensification of gastrointestinal illnesses in the athletes who took part in the race last Wednesday.”