Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen has opened up on what it really was like to swim in the River Seine.
The menâs triathlon final had to be postponed by a day this week after there was high levels of pollution in the water after heavy rainfall on Friday.
Both the menâs and womenâs triathlons eventually went ahead on Wednesday but one participant has complained about the conditions.
THE SEINE TRIATHLON FIASCO, ATHLETES SICK#PARIS2024 #OLYMPIC2024 pic.twitter.com/adiDrPhZRf
â Filipe Neves âď¸đś (@_FilipeNeves) July 31, 2024
Speaking to VTM, Belgiumâs Vermeylen, after placing 24th said: âI drank a lot of water, so weâll know tomorrow if Iâm sick or not.
âIt doesnât taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite, of course.
âWhile swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldnât think about too much.
âThe Seine has been dirty for a hundred years, so they canât say that the safety of the athletes is a priority. Thatâs bulls***!â
She continued: âNow they just have to hope that there wonât be too many sick athletes. I took pro-biotics, I drank my Yakult, I couldnât do more.
âI had the idea of âânot drinking water, but yes, it failed. Just like I had the idea of âânot falling but that failed too.â
The famous river has been closed off to the public for swimming for 100 years due to it being deemed unsafe to swim in but the French have spent a staggering ÂŁ1.2 billion to get it cleaned for the games.



