Two Olympic events could be in major doubt as multiple athletes fall sick

Two Olympic events could be in doubt after multiple athletes reportedly fell sick in the space of several days.

The swim legs of the triathlon events at Paris 2024 have been held in the River Seine, which had previously prohibited swimming for over 100 years.

But organisers authorised a historic clean-up of the river before the Games got underway, and it was announced in July that it had passed the relevant tests to allow it to be used.

The major concern surrounding the Seine involves levels of E. coli, a bacteria that, in certain strains, can cause serious illness.

While the men's triathlon, which was due to be held last Tuesday, was expected to go ahead as planned, heavy rainfall caused the water quality to decline and the event had to be postponed by a day.

After both the men's and women's individual events on Wednesday, a number of athletes complained about the quality of the water during the swim leg.

Belgian athlete Jolien Vermeylen told VTW that she 'felt and saw things that we shouldn't think about too much' while swimming in the Seine.

Belgium were then forced to pull out of the mixed triathlon race after Vermeylen's team-mate Claire Michels fell ill.

It was initially reported that she had been hospitalised by an E. coli infection, but Michels herself has confirmed that this was not in fact the case and that a virus caused her illness.

But there are concerns about whether the final two events scheduled to feature Seine swims - the women's and men's marathon swims - can take place in their original location or whether an alternative venue may need to be found.

According to the Associated Press, an unnamed female triathlete from Sweden and a men's triathlete from Norway became sick after competing in individual events in the Seine last week.

A Swiss triathlete fell 'seriously ill' after the men's triathlon, while another athlete was also affected by a gastrointestinal illness and forced Switzerland to change their mixed relay line-up.

It has not yet been confirmed whether any of the illnesses were as a result of the Seine's water quality.

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On Tuesday, Paris 2024 organisers announced that a planned training session for the marathon swims - which would have involved athletes training in the River Seine - had been cancelled.

World Aquatics confirmed that water testing assessments showed the levels of Enterococci - faecal pollution - was higher than acceptable thresholds.

A statement read: "The water quality review showed E coli levels ranged from 326 to 517 (considered "very good" to good") at the four collection points taken on August 5 between 5:00 and 6:00am.

"However, Enterococci levels exceeded World Aquatics maximum thresholds during the morning review.

"The latest Enterococci samples (taken between 12:30 and 13:20 on August 4) showed levels exceeding the maximum acceptable World Aquatics thresholds."

Open-water training did take place on Wednesday, with officials expressing confidence that both the men's and the women's races can take place as planned without issues. The weather forecast is currently favourable ahead of both races.

Fortunately, there is a backup plan put in place by Paris 2024 organisers if the races cannot go ahead as planned.

As per the Associated Press, one option is to relocate the marathon swims to the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in greater Paris, which has hosted rowing and canoeing competitions and is an open-water venue.