Belgian relay team forfeits mixed triathlon with athlete ‘in hospital with E.coli infection’ – with River Seine believed to be the cause

The Belgian relay team has had to cancel the mixed triathlon, which will take place on Monday.

As reported by The standardClaire Michel, one of the members of the Belgian Hammers, is in hospital and has been ill for four days.

After investigation it turned out that Michel was infected with the E. coli bacteria.

The infection can cause stomach and intestinal complaints.

It is believed that Michel fell ill after swimming in the polluted River Seine.

Michel was infected with the E. coli bacteria, probably by swimming in the Seine

A statement from Team Belgium confirmed that Michel is ill and that the Belgian Hammers will not participate in the mixed relay.

The statement read: ‘The COIB and Belgian Triathlon regret to announce that the “Belgian Hammers” will not start tomorrow in the mixed relay of the Olympic Games in Paris. The decision, as well as this announcement, was taken in consultation with the athletes and their entourage.

Claire Michel, member of the relay, is unfortunately ill and has to withdraw from the competition.

‘As a member of the COIB and the World Triathlon Athletes Commission, she is committed to continuously evaluating and improving the conditions for athletes.’

The statement also called for lessons to be learned from the planning and format of races to ensure there is “no uncertainty for the athletes”.

The continuation: ‘The COIB and Belgian Triathlon hope that lessons will be learned for the next triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games. We are thinking of the guarantee of training days, competition days and the format of competitions that must be clarified in advance and must ensure that there is no uncertainty for the athletes, the entourage and the supporters.’

The individual race had to be postponed because the water quality of the Seine was not good enough.

Around £1.2 billion has been spent cleaning up a river that has been off-limits to swimming for 100 years, and in June, ten times the legal limit for E.coli was found.

Jolien Vermeylen, who is also part of the Belgian team, complained about the water quality

Jolien Vermeylen, who is also part of the Belgian team, complained about the quality of the water in the Seine.

Vermeylen told VTM: ‘When I was under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think too much about.

‘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 nonsense!’.

She added: ‘I’ve been drinking a lot of water, so we’ll know tomorrow whether I’m sick or not. Of course, it doesn’t taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite.

“If the race hadn’t happened, it would have been a disgrace for the organization, for Paris, for France. It was now or never, and they couldn’t cancel the race altogether.

‘Now they just have to hope that there are not too many sick athletes. I took probiotics, I drank my Yakult, that was all I could do.

‘I had the idea of ​​not drinking water, but yeah, that failed. Just like I had the idea of ​​not falling, but that also failed.’