Belgian Olympic athlete who fell ill after swimming in the Seine claims her illness was caused by a virus, not E. coli

Paris – A Belgian triathlete falls illwhich forced his team to withdraw from the mixed relay event at the Paris Olympic Gamessaid blood tests showed it was a virus that made her sick.

The Belgian Olympic Committee announced on Sunday that it would withdraw its team from Monday’s mixed triathlon relay because Claire Michel was unable to compete. Claire Michel had competed a few days earlier in the women’s triathlon, which included a swim in the Seine River.

Bacteria levels in the long-polluted river have been evolving during the Gameswhich led to the cancellation of swimming tests before the triathlon events and the Men’s triathlon to be delayed Organizers had said water quality tests carried out on the day of the individual triathlon races showed “very good” levels of fecal bacteria E. coli and enterococci.

Some media outlets had reported that Michel had been sick with E. coli and had spent several days in the hospital. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, she wrote that there had been “a lot of conflicting information in the media lately” and that she wanted to “clarify a few things.”

It was not E. coli bacteria that made her sick, she wrote, adding that she sought treatment at a clinic in the Olympic Village on Sunday after days of vomiting and diarrhea that “left her feeling pretty empty.”

She thanked people for their get-well messages and said her “thoughts are first and foremost” with her relay teammates, “who have also lost another chance to compete.”