Triathlon in the dirty Seine? The winner vomited, the stream of water carried the contestant away

The correspondent of Deník in Paris, Jan Braun, shows the state of the Seine river. July 30, 2024, Paris, France | Video: Diary/Jan Braun

For several days, the entire Olympic world watched with tension whether the quality of the water in the Seine would allow the organization of the triathlon as it should look like. The men’s race even had to be postponed by a day. Today at four o’clock in the morning, however, a final decision was made: The race will take place in the Seine.

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According to the organizers, the river flow in the French capital met the set limits, which were exceeded in the past days after the rains. The water was safe for health. The biggest problem was the strong current, which forced the participants to swim very close to the shore when returning.

“I didn’t feel like the river smelled bad. Overall, I had a lot of respect from the stream. It was probably the hardest swim of my life. I think we swam a lot of extra meters because at the buoys the current was taking us away. After a long time, I also received a fifteen-second penalty for dangerous swimming, as we climbed one after the other,” recounted the only Czech participant Olympic race Petra Kuříková, who finished in 29th place in Paris, improving her ranking from Tokyo by one rung.

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She enjoyed the race in a stormy atmosphere. Not only were both vast grandstands full, but above all thousands of rowdy fans stood by the track. “I expected the atmosphere to be huge, but I was still surprised by the buzz. A very beautiful experience. Even the track was amazing,” she smiled Kuříková.

The home team Cassandre Beaugrand won the gold, taking care of the first individual triathlon medal for France under five circles. President Emmanuel Macron also congratulated her on this. Three years ago in Tokyo, Beaugrand did not finish the race.

The correspondent of Deník in Paris, Jan Braun, shows the state of the Seine river. July 30, 2024, Paris, France | Video: Diary/Jan Braun

“It’s crazy. I panicked in the morning, I threw up before the start. It was terrible nerves. It’s never happened to me before, especially in front of other racers. I didn’t want to repeat Tokyo, where I was so nervous that I wasn’t able to show what was in me at all,” Beaugrand described.

British Alex Yee dominated the men’s race.