Dutch triathletes complain about Seine's dirty water during Olympic triathlon
By Simone Jacobs
Triathletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics on behalf of the Netherlands have complained about dirty water in the Seine River. According to the athletes, the triathlon swim was not an enjoyable experience and the conditions for the race were unfair.
Water in Seine considered clean enough for triathlon during Olympic Games
The triathlon had previously been scheduled for Tuesday, July 30, but after the rainy weather on the weekend caused sewers to overflow into the Seine River, the practise sessions and main event were postponed. The water was considered clean enough and the triathlon was given the green light the following day.
According to Dutch triathlete Rachel Klamer, the cleanliness of the river was not up to snuff. “The swim in the Seine was disgusting,” she told RTL Nieuws. “We'll see if I get sick. I really swallowed a lot of water.”
Dirty water wasn’t the only challenge during the swimming portion of the triathlon. The river’s current and how all the athletes tried to swim in the same sections to deal with it caused a lot of contact in the water. “Shoulders, legs, feet. I was almost pulled back,” Klamer said after coming in 14th place.
Another Dutch triathlete, Maya Kingma, who finished seventh said that it was “a shame that you take such a risk at the biggest event in the world.” She continued, saying, “I’m glad the triathlon went ahead, but having so much tension is not something I can repeat.”
Dutch Olympic team has three medals so far
While we have all been watching the Paris Olympics with bated breath to see the Netherlands score some wins, there was some disappointment when the Dutch Olympic team didn’t win any medals during the first weekend.
The tide finally turned when the Dutch men’s rowing team won the country its first medal of the Olympic Games, and a gold one at that, during the quadruple sculls final. Shortly after, in the women’s quadruple sculls, the women’s rowing team followed suit and won a silver medal for the Netherlands.
On the evening of July 31, Dutch swimmer Caspar Corbeau won the newest edition for the medal cache, earning a bronze medal in the men’s 200-metre breaststroke.
Thumb image credit: Valeria Cantone / Shutterstock.com
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more