Olympic star vomits on live TV after being forced to swim race in polluted Paris river
An Olympian was seen violently vomiting on live TV after he was forced to swim through the River Seine.
Canadian triathlete Tyler Mislawchuk had just crossed the finish line after swimming just shy of a mile in the river that runs through the heart of Paris, France.
For more than 100 years, swimming in the Seine has mostly been banned as people would be at risk of contracting diseases if they accidentally swallowed the polluted water - known for it's high levels of E.coli.
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But with France hosting their third Summer Olympics, and the first in 100 years, athletes who take part in the marathon swimming and triathlon events have been permitted to dip in the water for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Mislawchuk was one of a number of Olympians seen struggling after completing the triathlon which included a 1.5-km swim, 40km bike ride, and 10km run.
But the Canadian - who finished in ninth place - was the only athlete to be seen throwing his guts up, although it is no surprise with the poor water quality and temperatures soaring 86F in the French capital.
After the race, Mislawchuk told Canadian media: “I didn’t come here to come top 10 but I gave it everything I had.
“I went for it, I have no regrets - vomited 10 times.”
The Seine had failed numerous tests in the lead up to the Olympics due to rain causing a runoff, and even sewage at times, into the river.
French officials have thrown around $1.5 billion into making the body of water safer in preparation for the Olympics.
Following their efforts, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the River Seine to prove that it was safe to do so.
She said: "It’s sweet and wonderful and the result of a lot of work.
"I remember at the very beginning in 2015 when we began our campaign for the Games, the international triathlon federation said: 'Why not a triathlon in the Seine? Will athletes be able to swim in the Seine?'. Today we can say they can."
Yesterday (July 30), it was announced that the triathlon had been postponed because of concerns over the river's water quality.
But today (July 31), male and female athletes competed in the triathlon and they were seen finally diving into the river that flows through the heart of the city of love.
It came after a joint statement was issued by the organizers of the event and World Triathlon, the governing body for the sport, in which they explained the water quality was safe after testing.
It read: "Following a meeting on water quality held on 31 July at 3.30am [local time] attended by Paris 2024, representatives of World Triathlon and their Technical and Medical Delegates, Météo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region involved in carrying out water quality tests, the stakeholders involved have confirmed that the women’s and the men’s triathlons will go ahead as planned on 31 July at 8am and 10.45am respectively.
"The results of the latest water analyses, received at 3.20am, have been assessed as compliant by World Triathlon allowing for the triathlon competitions to take place."
Team USA's current medal count - 27
Gold medalists
- Lee Kiefer: Fencing - Women's individual foil
- Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 100m butterfly
- Jack Alexj, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong, Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held, Matt King: Swimming - Men's 4x100m freestyle
- Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's team competition
Silver medalists
- Nic Fink: Swimming - Men's 100m breaststroke
- Lauren Scruggs: Fencing - Women's individual foil
- Gretchen Walsh: Swimming - Women's 100m butterfly
- Haley Batten: Mountain Bike - Women's cross country
- Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh. Torri Huske, Simone Manuel, Erika Connolly, Abbey Weitzel: Swimming - Women's 4x100m freestyle
- Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook: Diving - Women's springboard 3m synchronised
- Katie Grimes: Swimming - Women's 400m individual medley
- Jagger Eaton: Skateboarding - Men's street
- Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 100m backstroke
- Bobby Finke: Swimming - Men's 800m freestyle
- Carson Foster, Brooks Curry, Chris Guiliano, Luke Hobson, Drew Kibler, Blake Pieroni, Kieran Smith: Swimming - Men, 4x200m freestyle
- Perris Benegas: Cycling - Women's BMX freestyle
Bronze medalists
- Carson Foster: Swimming - Men's 400m individual medley
- Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 400m freestyle
- Chloe Dygert: Cycling - Women's individual time trial
- Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, Paul Juda, Asher Hong: Artistic Gymnastics - Men's team competition
- Nick Itkin: Fencing - Men's foil individual
- Emma Weyant: Swimming - Women's 400m individual medley
- Ryan Murphy: Swimming - Men's 100m backstroke
- Luke Hobson: Swimming - Men's 200m freestyle
- Nyjah Huston: Skateboarding - Men's street
- Ilona Maher, Kayla Canett, Lauren Doyle, Alev Kelter, Kristi Kirshe, Sarah Levy, Alena Olsen, Ariana Ramsey, Steph Rovetti, Alex Sedrick, Sammy Sullivan, Naya Tapper: Rugby 7s - Women's team competition
- Katharine Berkoff: Swimming - Women's 100m backstroke
Joe Yates