Athletes swim in the Seine during the triathlon at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, July 31. Laure Boyer/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Hide caption
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Laure Boyer/Hans Lukas/AFP via Getty Images
The Belgian Olympic team withdrew from Monday’s mixed-sport triathlon after one of its triathletes, Claire Michel, fell ill last Wednesday after swimming in the Seine, a river that has frequently raised concerns about water quality and safety.

“The Belgian Hammers will not be competing in the mixed relay at the Paris Games,” the Belgian team said in a statement. “One of our mixed relay team athletes, Michelle, unfortunately has to withdraw from the competition due to illness.”
The Olympic team did not comment on Michel’s condition or blame the Seine, but Belgian newspaper De Standard reported that the triathlete was hospitalized and treated on Sunday for an E. coli infection, which can cause serious intestinal problems and health problems.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Olympic organizers canceled practice swims for triathletes due to poor water quality tests. In a statement obtained by NPR, organizers said “heavy rains” on Wednesday and Thursday led to the cancellation of the practice swims. The heavy rains could overwhelm the city’s aging sewer system, causing untreated sewage to flow into the Seine River and increasing the rate of E. coli infections.
In the years leading up to the Paris Olympics, France spent more than $1 billion cleaning up the Seine, where swimming had been banned for over a century. The river had long been considered too polluted for human use. On July 17, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo jumped into the murky waters and proclaimed, “We’ve done it!”

The last time Olympic triathletes, including Michel, competed in the Seine was on Wednesday. As things stand, the Olympic athletes will compete in a mixed-sport triathlon without the Belgian team on Monday and swim in the Seine. Daily testing of the river will continue ahead of Monday’s triathlon and the marathon swimming races scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
“Belgian Triathlon hopes that lessons can be learned for future triathlon events,” the Belgian team’s statement said. “We are considering reliable training days, competition dates and formats that are clear in advance, and a situation that does not cause uncertainty for athletes, officials and fans.”