‘I Vomited 9 Times & Had Diarrhoea After Swimming in River Seine at Paris Olympics’

Another Olympian at Paris 2024 has come forward about their awful experience after swimming in the River Seine. German Olympian Leonie Beck claimed she vomited nine times and suffered from diarrhoea after competing in the women’s marathon swimming event.

There has been much controversy surrounding the Parisian river for the entirety of the Games. Prior to the event it had been closed to public swimming for a century. Notably, Jolien Vermeylen of Belgium slammed the event organisers after being forced to swim in the river for the triathlon.

There have been understandable concerns that athletes could pick up diseases, and having swam in the Seine, Beck has revealed the awful reaction she had.

Beck Left Unwell After Swimming In Sienne

“Vomited nine times”

The German finished ninth in the women’s marathon swimming event, which saw athletes spend over two hours in the waters, travelling for 10 kilometres. Although around £1.2billion was reportedly spent clearing up the river ahead of the Games, as recently as June, it had 10 times the permitted E.coli bacteria levels.

In the days after the event, Beck took to social media to reveal the toll it has taken on her body. She said that she “vomited nine times yesterday and had diarrhoea”, before sarcastically quipping: “Water quality in the Seine is approved.”

Vermeylen and Mislawchuk Struggle with Swimming Conditions

“The Seine has been dirty for a hundred years”

As alluded to before, Beck isn’t the first Olympian this summer to take issue with certain events taking place in the river. Vermeylen revealed just how awful it had been for here:

“While swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much. The Seine has been dirty for a hundred years, so they can’t say that the safety of the athletes is a priority. That’s bulls**t!”

Vermeylen was not the only triathlete to struggle in the awful conditions either. For instance, in the men’s triathlon event, Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk was caught on camera vomiting after crossing the line in ninth place. He later revealed that he “vomited 10 times.”