Olympic triathlon organizers confirm mixed relay to be held as scheduled amid water quality concerns, athlete illness

Despite Belgium pulling out of competition after a swimmer came down ill following a swim in the Seine River, event organizers have confirmed the the mixed relay triathlon will continue as scheduled.

Conditions in the Seine River have become a significant course of concern after efforts made to treat it were not wholly successful. A Sunday training session was canceled.

But the mixed relay triathlon will go on anyway, scheduled for 8 a.m. in Paris on Monday.

“A meeting was held… to review the water quality results,” World Triathlon and the Paris Games Organising Committee said in a joint statement, according to Reuters. “During this meeting, World Triathlon took the decision to confirm the mixed relay competition…”

The primary concern of swimmer safety was highlighted when Belgium’s Claire Michel came down ill after swimming in the Seine River in the women’s triathlon on Wednesday. She finished 38th.

According to journalist Tim Heming of triathlete.com, the Belgian press is reporting that Michel has E.coli and that the Belgians will withdraw from the mixed team relay because they do not have a named female reserve for the event.

“The BOIC and Belgian Triathlon must unfortunately announce that the ‘Belgian Hammers’ will not be starting the mixed relay at the Paris Olympic Games tomorrow,” read a Belgian statement, via the New York Post. “The decision, like this communication, was taken in consultation with the athletes and their entourage.

“Claire Michel, a member of the relay, is unfortunately ill and must withdraw from the competition.”

Already the men’s triathlon at the Olympics was delayed due to poor conditions in the Seine River, while multiple training sessions have also been scrapped.

That already makes conditions less than ideal for swimmers.

Exacerbating the issues to get the Seine River up to snuff was the weather. Days of heavy rain made it more difficult to lower the bacteria levels from the Seine River.

Still, according to Reuters, event organizers defended the quality of the water in a statement to the press.

“Paris 2024 wishes to remind everyone that the health and wellbeing of athletes is our top priority,” the statement read. “Water samples… on the morning of the individual triathlon events showed the quality to be at a level considered ‘very good’ by World Triathlon’s criteria, according to results analysed and released the following day.”