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Belgium withdraws from Seine mixed relay triathlon after one athlete falls ill

Broadcast United News Desk
Belgium withdraws from Seine mixed relay triathlon after one athlete falls ill

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According to L’Equipe, triathlete Claire Michel was hospitalized after swimming in the Seine River in the women’s race won by Cassandre Beaugrand. The 35-year-old athlete ended up in the hospital after contracting Escherichia coli (E. Coli), a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family that normally lives in the intestines of humans and animals.

The same microbe led to the suspension of swimming sanctioning last week, with the men’s competition also postponed after tests in France’s third-longest river proved unsuitable for swimming.

With Claire Michael in hospital, the Belgian mixed team was forced to abandon the relay, for which the Belgian Olympic and Federal Committee criticized the organization in a scathing statement. “The IOC and Belgian Triathlon hope to learn lessons for the next triathlons. “We are thinking about the guarantee of training days, competition days, competition formats, which must be clear in advance to ensure that there is no uncertainty for athletes, environment and fans.”

English

Belgium did not participate in the mixed relay triathlon in Paris last Monday because a Belgian athlete fell ill and withdrew from the competition, the Belgian Olympic Committee said.

Athlete Claire Michel’s withdrawal from the competition, despite having swum in the Seine just days earlier, has reignited debate about the water quality of the river.

Pierre Labadin, Paris’ deputy mayor for sport, the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Seine, told the French news agency Agence France-Presse that other athletes who did not swim in the Seine fell ill in the Olympic Village.

“There is no evidence that leads us to believe this is related to the water quality,” Rabadan said of Michelle’s condition, adding that they also don’t know the cause.

Organisers said water tests carried out on the day of the Ironman single event showed bacteria levels were “very good”. Test results on Sunday evening showed the water quality at the Ironman venue had improved in recent hours and would meet World Triathlon’s prescribed limits.

Daily water testing measures the levels of faecal bacteria, such as E. coli, in the Seine’s water. The World Triathlon Water Safety Guidelines and the 2006 EU Directive set qualitative values ​​for E. coli levels.

Euronews/Euronews

Photograph: David Goldman/AP Photo

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