This Canadian Triathlete Threw Up 10 Times After Swimming In The Seine, Causing Debate Over Water Quality
Tyler Mislawchuk later said he had just happened to swallow a lot of water during the race and it had nothing to do with water quality.
Canadian athlete Tyler Mislawchuk was seen vomiting on camera after the Men’s Triathlon event at the Paris Olympics, sparking yet another debate about the water quality of the Seine.
At this year's Olympics, the swimming section of the triathlon events are held in the Seine, which Paris officials had spent 1.4 billion euros (US$1.5 billion) on cleaning up for the Olympics.
However, concerns over increased levels of E. Coli as a result of the heavy rains led practice sessions to be scrapped.
The actual men’s triathalon event itself was postponed from Tuesday, July 30 to Wednesday, July31.
29-year-old Mislawchuk finished ninth in the event, and upon crossing the finish line, he proceeded to throw up on live TV.
In a clip that has since gone viral online, the camera then pans away to show other athletes sitting or dropping to the ground in exhaustion.
Speaking to Triathlon Magazine after the race, Mislawchuk said he had gone all out to try to win a medal after he was forced to withdraw from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to an Achilles injury.
"I have no ‘what ifs’ on the day, I went for it, it was absolutely everything," he said. "I vomited 10 times after the race… It got hot in the last laps.
In another interview, he said the main issues he faced were strong currents and heat and not water quality.
Mislawchuk explained what happened to CBC in an interview on Aug. 1.
He said had just happened to swallow a lot of water during the race, adding that his stomach felt like "it had a small child in there".
"Nothing to do with the quality. My stomach was just extremely full, and so that ended up being a limiting factor for me in the race. You put that with an hour, 40 [minutes] of going as hard as you can, stuff’s going to happen," he said.
"It’s all over the internet and it's not why I want to go viral," he added, laughing.
The men’s and women’s marathon swimming will also be held in the Seine on Aug. 9 and Aug. 8 respectively.
More On The Paris Olympics
Isha Jain
Steph Lu
