There are a lot of positive things to say about the Paris Olympics, but when it comes to the negative side of the pentathlon games, after the opening, which many called scandalous, most people probably think of the tug-of-war related to the water quality of the Seine.
Not by chance, because the individual competition of the women’s and men’s triathletes, originally planned for last weekend, was only able to be held on Wednesday, as the river’s purity was again below the limit due to the rains of the previous week. According to the organizers, this had already risen to the appropriate level at dawn on Wednesday, so the finals were held, which were undoubtedly exciting – for some, however, the real excitement came only after reaching the finish line.
Even though it was quite obvious that the water quality of the Sejna is probably not suitable for sports despite the existence of the appropriate values, the triathletes were sent into the water. And this had the consequence,
several riders got sick, and Canada’s Tyler Mislawchuk threw up live, and said it happened at least nine more times after the race.
Of course, this is partly due to the fact that he exerted himself tremendously, but based on what the other runners said, the river water undoubtedly contributed to the extreme sickness.
According to the article of The Sun, at least certainly, because the classic of the Belgians, Jolien Vermeylen, who ended up in 24th place among the women in Paris, was also not impressed by the conditions. And although he was happy that the competition was held, he is still waiting to see if he will be able to participate.
I swallowed a lot of water while swimming, so we’ll find out tomorrow if I’m sick or not. It certainly doesn’t taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite. Under the bridge, I also felt and saw things that I shouldn’t have thought too much about, because I would have thrown the tach away immediately. The Seine has been dirty for a hundred years, they cannot say that the safety of the athletes is their priority. This is bullshit
– said the athlete after the race, who added that it is no coincidence that no one has been allowed to bathe in the river for a long time.
That is why the 30-year-old Vermeylen consciously tried to protect himself before the competition. coli infection, so he took probiotics and vitamins, but no one could do more than that. As well as the cancellation of the competition, neither did the organizers, because before the five-ring games, the mayor and the minister of sports also took a dip in the river, and they spent more than one billion euros just to make the Seine ready for the Olympics – but they only partially succeeded in achieving this. .
Since then, the weather has not been too kind to the French organizers, who expected great heat and dryness for this period. There was no problem with the heatwave at the beginning of the week, after last week’s milder temperature, summer has really set in, but it’s also raining regularly, so the humidity is huge. Not incidentally, the heavy rain further worsens the water quality of the Sejna, which has been a source of doubt up until now.
The triathlon mixed relay competition will be held on Monday, at least according to the original plans, and next Thursday and Friday, open water swimmers can compete on the same river section.
(Cover photo: The field of female triathletes starts on July 31. Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Hungary)
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2024-08-05 01:50:56