Grim moment Olympic athlete suddenly throws up live on air
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: BBC
An Olympian vomited live on-air following a brutal triathlon, having completed the punishing event in scorching 30°C heat.
Canada's Tyler Mislawchuk, 29, had just finished his triathlon today (July 31) - a 1.5km swim in the Seine, followed by a 40km bike ride and a 10km run, the gruelling race going on for over 90 minutes.
The camera panned to him as he was physically sick on live TV after finishing ninth.
Having finished at 1hr 44min 25sec, the athlete went on to share that it wasn’t the first time he’d thrown up and that he had actually vomited 10 times.
Advert
He 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.”
That’s the spirit.
But it’s no surprise he had been so ill during the race as temperatures soared at around 30°C in the event.
Originally meant to have been held yesterday morning, the event was postponed after organisers found that the water quality in the Seine wasn’t suitable for the athletes.
Water quality in the river has been a contentious issue, with one athlete going as far as trying to deliberately infect himself with E. Coli to increase his 'threshold' in the weeks prior to the triathlon.
It was only early hours this morning that the event organisers chose to go ahead with the race, with it taking place after the women's race.
With the rise in temperatures, the men were visibly struggling to finish their course, and Mislawchuk’s reaction isn’t surprising.
The reason it was pushed back was because organisers claimed samples taken from the water showed higher levels of bacteria than the threshold would allow for the event to take place.
In the end, the event was given the green light but it was just too much for some athletes to contend with.
During the game, you could see other athletes lying on the floor at the finish line after completing the course.
Other athletes were also struggling to hydrate properly as temperatures soared.
Team GB tennis star Jack Draper criticised Olympic organisers after having to drink ‘hot water’ during his match against America's Taylor Fritz.
The 22-year-old Brit appeared visibly wilted as the game carried on, having initially played very well until the scorching heat became unbearable.
As temperatures climbed in the French capital, the match ended with a 6-7 6-3 6-2 defeat for Draper.
This year's Olympics supplied tennis players with refillable bottles.
Because of this, Draper claims he couldn’t keep his water cold and was seen spending the changes of ends standing at a water fountain, instead of sitting on his chair to rest.
He explained: “I need to play more in this sort of heat, and obviously, going to America, I’ll get more used to that. It was really hot out there today.
“We were both trying our best to put out some good tennis. Part of it’s physicality but I said to the referee, it’s pretty poor that the players have to drink hot water when we’re playing in those conditions.”