Belgium's Olympic committee announced on Sunday it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon at the Paris Olympics after one of its competitors swimming the Seine fell ill.
Claire Michel, who competed in the women's triathlon on Wednesday, “unfortunately is ill and will have to withdraw from the competition,” the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee said in a statement.
Paris Olympic organizers had no immediate comment.
The mixed relay triathlon is scheduled to take place on Monday, with the swimming portion of the competition also scheduled for the Seine. The statement did not detail Michel's illness, but it comes after concerns about the quality of the river's water.
Organizers had said water quality tests carried out on the day of the individual triathlon races showed “very good” levels of bacteria.
The men's and women's Olympic triathlons were successfully held as planned on the River Seine in Paris, as water tests met IOC safety standards just hours before the events were scheduled to take place.
Daily water quality tests measure the levels of faecal bacteria, including E. coli, in the waters of the Seine. The World Triathlon Water Safety Guidelines and a 2006 European Union directive assign qualitative values to a range of E levels. coli
According to World Triathlon guidelines, levels of E. coli of up to 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters can be considered “good” and may allow competitions to proceed.
The World Triathlon medical committee said it takes water quality analysis, health inspection and weather forecast into account when determining whether to go ahead with a race. Decisions are made in early morning meetings on the day of an event.
Ahead of the individual triathlon events in Paris, concerns about water quality prompted organizers to cancel the swimming portion of two events intended to allow athletes to familiarize themselves with the course and also delay it by a day the men's race. The Seine swim events scheduled for Saturday and Sunday before the mixed triathlon relay were also canceled due to bacteria levels in the water.
Organizers have said that if the water quality is not acceptable for Monday's mixed triathlon relay, they may postpone it until Tuesday. If concerns persist, the plan is to skip the swim leg and have athletes compete only in the bike and run portions.
The Belgian committee has said that it “hopes that lessons will be learned for future triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games. We think here about the guarantee of training days, competition days and the format of the competition, which needs to be clarified with in advance and ensure there is no uncertainty for the athletes, entourage and supporters.”
Swiss and Norwegian triathletes also fell ill
Swiss officials said on Saturday that triathlete Adrien Briffod, who also competed in the Seine on Wednesday, fell ill with a stomach infection. But they said it was “impossible to say” whether it was swimming-related and that other delegations told them none of their triathletes had reported stomach problems.
Swiss officials said in an update on Sunday that Simon Westermann, who had been selected to replace Briffod, also had to withdraw due to a gastrointestinal infection. Westermann had not taken part in any bathing in the Seine, according to the statement.
The Swiss team was still scheduled to compete in the medley relay on Monday, according to the statement.
Norwegian triathlete Vetle Bergsvik Thorn fell ill a day after competing in the men's triathlon. Thorn told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he woke up the next day with an upset stomach and vomiting, but thought the likely cause was food poisoning. She said she felt better later that day and planned to compete again in the medley relay scheduled for Monday.
Arild Tveiten, the sports director of the Norwegian Triathlon Federation, said the cause of Thorn's illness was unclear.
“We're thinking what everyone is thinking: that it's probably the river. But we don't know. It could be the river, it could be the chicken,” Tveiten told NRK. “The doctor is leaning toward the possibility of food poisoning. That's what the symptoms suggest.”
Marathon swimming events will be held on the Seine on Thursday and Friday.
Five of the eight swimmers in Sunday night's men's 1,500-meter freestyle were registered to compete in the marathon 10-kilometer swim.
Ireland's bronze medalist Daniel Wiffen, who earlier won gold in the 800m freestyle, said he would not train early in the Seine. “I don't want to try to deal with any disease.”
He said he would train in Paris pools instead, even if it meant “going in blind”.
Español de Venezuela 
English 