By Alfredo Echenique Lugo
07 Aug 2024, 16:34 PM EDT
On August 5, the Belgian mixed triathlon team was unable to participate in the Olympic Games due to an infection suffered by athlete Claire Michel. Initially, it was believed that the triathlete’s infection could have been caused by swimming in the Seine River.
However, Michel herself recently ruled out the possibility that the infection was caused by swimming in the waters of the iconic Parisian river in a statement on social media.
The Seine has been the focus of great controversy during these Olympic Games. After the French government invested nearly $1.5 billion to clean it up and allow open swimming tests to be carried out in its waters, there are still doubts about the quality and safety of the water in the river.
That is why last Monday Michel began to suffer from diarrhea, malaise and vomiting. Rumours spread that it was caused by swimming in the Seine, so the athlete herself had to come out and deny it on Wednesday.
“There is a lot of information and confusion in the media, so I want to clarify a few things. The first thing the blood tests showed was that I had contracted a virus, but it was not E.Coli. After three days of vomiting and diarrhoea, I was completely exhausted. On Sunday I ended up needing more medical attention and spent the whole day in the clinic,” the Belgian began her statement.
Michel thus ruled out the possibility that the infection he had was caused by the E. coli bacteria, which is why it could not have been caused by swimming in the Seine.
On the other hand, the athlete apologized to her triathlon team for making them lose the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games event.
“Lastly, while the whole team understood and supported my decision not to compete in the relay, my heart went out to the Belgian Hammers, Marten Van Riel, Jelle Geens and Jolien Vermeylen, who lost another opportunity to compete due to my withdrawal,” Michel concluded.
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