Recently, Canadian Olympian Tyler Mislawchuk vomited ten times after swimming in the dirty waters of the Seine River during the Paris Olympic games. Mislawchuk competed in the 2024 triathlon last week and finished 9th place. For most of the race, it looked as if he would place for a medal, but suddenly, his body gave out toward the final part of the event.
After that, Mislawchuk proceeded to throw up multiple times. This incident follows serious concerns about the sanitation of the Seine, where events were postponed or canceled over reports that the water was unsafe for athletes to swim in. Allegedly, France had spent years attempting to clean up the river to make it safe for swimmers. However, those efforts have been to no avail.
“For me, whether I was fourth or 55th, it doesn’t really matter. I tried to win a medal, and I went out there and was basically in third place with the two French guys for five and a half or 6 km,” Mislawchuk said, recounting his performance. However, the unforeseen health circumstances would drop him from the competitive position.
Unlike his last showing at the Olympics, Mislawchuk went into the games with no excuses where injuries would inhibit his performance. However, he suggested the heat could have played a factor in his vomiting episode. “At my last Olympics there was the injury and with all the stuff that happened there was a lot of ‘what ifs.’ I have no ‘what ifs’ on the day, I went for it. It was absolutely everything. I vomited 10 times after the race … it got hot in the last laps,” he continued.
Other athletes commented on the state of the Seine River as well. Dutch triathlete Rachel Klamer claimed the water was downright “disgusting.” She said, “The swim in the Seine was disgusting.” Klamer further complained, “The water was dirty, and the conditions were unfair. A lot of swimmers came out of the water behind me who are actually faster. The swimming was really a lottery.”
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