Recently, an Irish Olympic swimmer was hospitalized after swimming in the unsanitary conditions of the Seine River. After finishing in 18th place in the men’s 10-kilometer swimming event in the open water of the Seine on Friday, 23-year-old Daniel Wiffen was rushed to the hospital after exposure to the polluted water. Despite the medical incident, Wiffen won gold in the 800-meter freestyle and bronze in the 1500-meter freestyle.
In recent years, France allocated roughly $1.5 billion to help clean up the Seine, which for centuries had served as a “repository” for “all kinds of human-made runoff and waste.” However, it appears the exorbitant efforts to make the river swimmable for the Olympic athletes may not have been successful as it has made athletes sick.
Wiffen wrote on X, “Thanks everyone who reached out, I’m incredibly disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to be flag bearer last night. Yesterday I rushed to hospital as I was very unwell with a bug that I am being treated for, and am feeling better now. I hope everyone enjoys the evening and I hope to be well enough to seeing everyone when we get home.” Speaking to the press after the event, Wiffen said, “It’s probably one of the worst things I’ve ever done. But, yeah, I’m happy I did it.”
Reportedly, there were substantial concerns leading up to the Paris Olympics about the viability of the river to be used in outdoor swimming events. However, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the river on July 17 to quell fears that it was sufficiently clean. “There is absolutely no athlete who has been sick because they swam in the Seine River,” Hidalgo claimed. “The Seine River is de-polluted, and we are very proud and happy about that.”
Despite the reassuring statements from officials, other athletes have complained about the river. “The swim in the Seine was disgusting,” triathlete Rachel Klamer said. “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.”
“While swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much,” Belgium’s Jolien Vermeylen said after competing in the triathlon. “The Seine has been dirty for a hundred years, so they can’t say that the safety of the athletes is a priority. That’s bullshit!” suggesting that athlete safety was not enough of a priority.
Furthermore, Canadian Olympian Tyler Mislawchuk vomited ten times after swimming in the dirty waters of the Seine for the triathlon. “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 when discussing his performance.
He continued, “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.”
Watch Pat McAfee slam the Olympics below:
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