Canadian Olympian Tyler Mislawchuk threw up 10 times after swimming through the filthy waters of the Seine during the 2024 triathlon event Wednesday.
Mislawchuk finished 9th place after being in the running for a medal halfway through the final portion of his race, but his body started to give out, according to a statement he gave to 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,” Mislawchuk said.
He seemed to go on to blame the high temperatures in Paris for his vomit session. “At my last Olympics there was the injury and with all the stuff that happened there was a lot of ‘what ifs.’ I have no ‘what ifs’ on the day, I went for it. It was absolutely everything. I vomited 10 times after the race … it got hot in the last laps,” he continued. But some seem to think the Seine may have contributed to the situation.
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 31: Tyler Mislawchuk of Team Canada competes during Men’s Individual Triathlon on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Pont Alexandre III on July 31, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
“The swim in the Seine was disgusting,” triathlete Rachel Klamer told Dutch news outlet RTL. “The water was dirty, and the conditions were unfair. A lot of swimmers came out of the water behind me who are actually faster. The swimming was really a lottery.”
Ariel Helwani Interviews Mislawchuk After Race
Mislawchuk At The 2020 Olympics
Epic Final Triathlon Mile
The men’s race was postponed due to high levels of bacteria in the Seine, most of it seeming to be E. coli and enterococci bacteria, both of which come from sewage. (RELATED: ‘This Is Unjust!’: Female Olympian Withdraws 46 Seconds Into Forced Fight Against Man)
As my colleague Rob McGreevy put it, “The river is full of shit.” And yet the International Olympic Committee (IOC) still thought it was a good idea to go ahead with the race. I think this will be one of the many things people look back on from Paris 2024 and think, “What the heck did we do to these poor athletes?”
