2024-08-12 20:18:22
Three of the four German athletes who took part in the Olympic open water swimming competitions in the Seine suffered health problems.
As reported by Day.Az with reference to TASS, this was reported to the DPA agency by the German Olympic Sports Confederation.
“Two German open water swimmers received outpatient care yesterday after complaining of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. They are feeling much better again this morning,” the NOC said.
“Another swimmer with similar symptoms is currently being treated by the men’s team doctors,” the confederation said, without specifying which athletes were involved.
Earlier on Saturday, German swimmer Leonie Beck reported that she had experienced symptoms of an intestinal disease. The 27-year-old athlete complained of nausea and diarrhea. At the same time, she recalled that the organizers approved the quality of the water in the Seine. The women’s 10 km open water competition took place last Thursday. Beck took ninth place. Leonie Mertens also took part in the swim as part of the German team. Oliver Klemet, who took second place in Paris, and Tokyo Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock took part in the open water competition for men from Germany.
The German NOC also stated that the water quality indicators in the Seine before the competition, which were presented by the organizers, allegedly met the requirements.
A number of athletes had previously complained of feeling unwell and suffering from stomach and intestinal symptoms after the Seine swims, including Kazakhstani triathlete Yekaterina Shabalina, Belgian Claire Michel and two New Zealand athletes. Belgian media reported that Michel had been hospitalized with E. coli, but it was only a week after the swim and four days after the media reports appeared that the athlete decided to refute them, stating that she had indeed fallen ill, but that the cause of her illness was not E. coli.
Representatives of the organizing committee and the Paris city hall have also repeatedly stated that the athletes’ illnesses are not related to the quality of the Seine’s water, and have assured journalists that the authorities do not prohibit independent water quality tests. However, the Paris city hall, which coordinates the collection of water from the Seine for official tests, has already stated that it will not publish the results during the Olympics.