U.S. triathlon Seth Rider has decided to stop washing his hands after going to the bathroom in a bid to increase his resistance to the polluted River Seine.
The men's individual triathlon race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been postponed as the water quality in the Seine is still below regulatory standards. The race was meant to commence on Tuesday but has now been delayed until Wednesday, although the water could still be harmful to the athletes.
To gain an advantage and avoid potential illness, Rider is taking drastic action by not washing his hands and believes there is science to support his theory. "We know that there's going to be some E. coli exposure, so I just try to increase my E. coli threshold by exposing myself to a bit of E. coli in day-to-day life," Rider said.
"And it’s actually backed by science. Proven methods. Just little things throughout your day, like not washing your hands after you go to the bathroom."
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Organizers have been working hard to improve the quality of the water, but it rained heavily during Friday's opening ceremony and the poor weather has continued. Rainfall negatively affected the quality of the water, and it led to the race being delayed.
"Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes," a press release stated on Monday. "The tests carried out in the Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.
"Despite the improvement in the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits." Not only has this impacted the official race, but it's also stopped athletes from training in the appropriate conditions.
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The technical director of the French triathlon federation, Benjamin Maze, revealed to several French reporters that the athletes have been "angry and disappointed" by the delays and poor water quality. "There was a bit of anger and disappointment on the part of the triathletes," he said.
"The events were supposed to take place at 8 a.m., so when we heard the news, they were already at breakfast eating some rice. Well, the pre-race meal as usual. In this kind of situation, you have to accept your emotions. Once again, this disappointment, this anger, and then to leave in a resilient mood, to leave in a much more positive mood.
"In any case, that’s what we encouraged them to do." However, he conceded that when doing outdoor events there are factors that cannot be controlled. "They know that they are doing an outdoor sport, even more so in triathlon. We knew that we had had problems with water pollution in recent days."
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