Belgium withdraws from Olympic triathlon event after athlete who swam in Seine River gets sick

Belgium will no longer compete in the mixed relay triathlon at the Paris Olympics after one of its athletes who previously swam in the Seine River fell ill, the country’s Olympic committee said.

Claire Michel "is unfortunately ill and will have to withdraw from the competition," the Olympic committee and the Interfederal Committee said in a statement.

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Belgian Claire Michel is shown during the women's individual triathlon at the Olympic Games in Paris on July 31, 2024. (JASPER JACOBS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)

Michel competed in the women’s triathlon on Wednesday after days of training postponements over concerns about the water quality in the Seine River. She finished 38th.

Paris 2024 organizers said the triathlon would still go on at 8 a.m. local time. Belgian officials didn’t specify the type of illness that Michel suffered, but concerns were raised about the water quality in the days and weeks before the triathlon competitions started.

World Triathlon, the International Olympic Committee and Olympic organizers along with regional and weather authorities reviewed the water quality, and the results indicated that conditions had improved in recent hours and would be within the limits mandated by World Triathlon.

Claire Michel of Belgium is assisted by Lotte Miller of Norway after the women's individual triathlon competition at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo on July 27, 2021. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Under World Triathlon guidelines, E. coli levels up to 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters can be considered "good" and can allow competition to move forward. Daily water tests have taken place in the Seine.

Belgian Olympic officials expressed "hopes that lessons will be learned for future triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games. We are thinking here of the guarantee of training days, competition days and the competition format, which must be clarified in advance and ensure that there is no uncertainty for the athletes, entourage and supporters."

Australia's Natalie Van Coevorden (15), Belgium's Claire Michel (5) and Kazakhstan's Ekaterina Shabalina (32) compete in the swim leg of the women's individual triathlon competition at the Summer Olympics in Paris on July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Water quality concerns prompted the cancellation of the swimming portion of two test runs. Test swims for the mixed relay were also canceled Saturday and Sunday because of the bacteria levels.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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