Belgium Bails on Paris Triathlon Relay Over Water Worries

 

Hey, so something kinda crazy happened at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday, right? Belgium totally sat out the triathlon mixed relay because one of their athletes, a woman named Claire Michel, got sick and couldn't compete. This has everyone talking about the water in the Seine River, where they're holding the triathlon events.

Now, even though Claire got ill a few days after her swim, people are really worried about the river's water quality. Pierre Rabadan, who's like the big sports and Olympics guy for Paris, talked to FranceInfo about it. He said that some other athletes at the Olympic village were also feeling under the weather, even though they didn't swim in the river. So, it's not just about the water, but everyone's definitely questioning if the river's to blame for Claire's sickness.

The folks in charge of the Paris Olympics had been saying that the water's fine, and they've been checking it like, all the time. They said tests done on the day of the individual races showed the water was pretty good when it came to bacteria like E. coli and stuff. And apparently, the water got even better by Sunday night, so it should've been okay for the relay.

They check for poop bacteria in the river every day to make sure it's safe for the athletes, following some pretty strict rules from World Triathlon and the EU. But with all this happening, it's clear that water safety at big events like this is super important. Now everyone's focused on keeping all the athletes healthy as the games go on. It's definitely something to keep an eye on!