For weeks, the holding of the triathlon and open water swimming events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on the River Seine has generated a lot of ink. And even if the competitions on the Parisian river end, the controversies are likely to continue. The Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP) announced on Wednesday, August 7, that two of its players, Vasco Vilaça and Melanie Santos, have contracted a gastrointestinal infection.
This comes after the mixed triathlon, the swimming part of which was held in the Seine. The Portuguese authority confirms that Vasco Vilaça's clinical condition is “stable”, but requires “conservative treatment of the athlete in the Olympic Village”. The main party concerned indicated, Instagramto be “I had symptoms reminiscent of a bad stomach flu: vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and stomach pain.”Melanie Santos “had identical, but less severe, symptoms,” according to the COP press release.
Other athletes have also fallen ill over the past two weeks. Belgian Claire Michel was forced to abandon the mixed relay, but denied rumours that the quality of the river was to blame. Similarly, Swiss athletes Adrien Prevod and Simon Westermann have suffered similar illnesses. “It's not a Seine story, he had stomach problems, maybe an infection, but he's recovering and is doing well now.”Pascal Slamin, president of the Swiss Triathlon Federation, explained that the second did not swim in the Seine.
