Olympic athlete blames one thing for vomiting ‘ten times’ after triathlon and it isn’t the polluted river Seine
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star via Getty Images/BBC
The Olympian who vomited on live TV at a triathlon event is not blaming the River Seine water conditions, after identifying what caused the issues.
Tyler Mislawchuk, the Olympian who was caught on camera vomiting at the finish line of the men's triathlon race, has spoken out about what he believes the cause was.
And contrary to speculation, he isn't blaming the water conditions in the River Seine, despite their being health concerns for athletes swimming in the water.
Both the men's and women's triathlon competitions were postponed on Tuesday (30 July), after officials deemed the water in the River Seine too unsafe to swim in.
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As a result, the Olympics triathlon events took place on Wednesday, when tests showed that the water was finally at an acceptable level for the swim to go ahead.
But despite some competitors being less than impressed with the standards of the water, Mislawchuck felt indifferent about the conditions.
After completing the race, Mislawchuck told Triathlon magazine: "For me, whether I was fourth or 55th it doesn’t really matter.
"I tried to win a medal and I went out there and was basically in third place with the two French guys for five and a half or 6 km."
Addressing the unfortunate vomiting episode, he put his illness down to the high temperatures the athletes experienced during the final laps.
He added: "I vomited ten times after the race … it got hot in the last laps."
In a separate interview with The Canadian Press, the 29-year-old said: "The race was strange.
"It was crazy currents which was difficult to deal with and then wet on the bike course from rain in the morning.
"It was then just scolding hot on the run so just all the elements, all the challenges that you can imagine.
"But that’s triathlon.
"We raced here last year in the test event and I had no issues.
"Obviously, I’m not a doctor, I’m not a water specialist, and so, for me, whatever I was reading in the news didn’t really matter."
Despite organiser's concerns about unhealthy levels of E.coli being present in the water, this wasn't at the top of Mislawchuck's priorities.
Instead, he complained about the current in the river.
He explained: "The current for sure was the biggest thing.
"People talk about the water quality but the current was so strong.
"We went out in almost three minutes and came back in nine minutes.
"It felt like you’re swimming in a movie with slow motion and you’re stuck in that bad dream."