More sick triathletes who have been swimming in the waters of the Seine are now being added almost daily; after previously Team Belgium, Team Switzerland and Team New Zealand, among others, saw athletes got sick due to the E. coli bacteria, it is now Team Portugal facing problems. Vasco Vilaca has been lousy for days after his Olympic triathlons.
Since last Tuesday, the day after the Mixed Team Relay, Vilaca has been suffering from intestinal problems, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea. “Unfortunately since Tuesday evening I’ve developed symptoms consistent with a pretty bad stomach flu. Vomiting, diarrhea, headache and stomach aches is not the way I wanted to leave Paris. Luckily I am getting all the help I need from my NOC doctors and staff for a fast recovery. The symptoms will go away but the 3 olympic diplomas earned with team Portugal will live forever! Leaving Paris happy and proud to be part of this team”, he said. Almost certainly other athletes also have complaints, but not everyone shares this publicly.
The water quality of the Seine was a recurring issue around the Olympic triathlons: swim course reconnaissance was cancelled for all races and the men’s individual race was postponed a day. For over a hundred years, swimming in the famous French river has been impossible due to poor water quality: this is mainly due to the French sewers that overflow into the Seine during heavy rains. Consequently, there were already fears of athletes being sick afterwards, and these fears now appear to be well-founded.
