The pollution in the Seine River and its effects are still making waves in the Olympic discourse. Open water swimmer Leonie Beck claims that, since her participation in the swim on Thursday, she has vomited nine times and experienced digestive issues.
Beck, one of 24 women in the 6.2-mile (10 km) open water swim, even took a jab at the Olympic organizers on her official Instagram account, writing: "The water quality in the river received an official approval."
The German swimmer finished the race in ninth place with a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 13 seconds, three minutes behind Dutch swimmer Sharon van Rouwendaal, who clinched the gold with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 34 seconds. Beck previously won gold in the women's 6.2-mile event at the World Championships in Fukuoka in 2023 and a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships.
Additionally, last week, the Belgian newspaper De Standaard reported that the Belgian relay team had to withdraw from the mixed triathlon event held last Monday after Claire Michel "contracted E. coli and is hospitalized." The infection, which can cause stomach and intestinal problems, is believed to have been contracted after Michel swam in the Seine River.
The water quality in the Seine River has been a hot topic throughout the Paris Olympic Games, which concluded Sunday with the closing ceremony at the Parc des Princes. Despite an investment of 1.4 billion euros in upgrading Paris's sewer systems, the river's water repeatedly fails quality tests. In the first week of the games, organizers had to postpone the men's triathlon competition by 24 hours and cancel the planned swimming training in the river due to the condition of the water.