Monday's event was also affected by the delays and cancellations that marathon swimming fans and competitors have become all too familiar with. A planned familiarisation swim for the relay competition was called off due to anticipated poor water quality .
This cancellation follows a similar situation for the individual event on July 28, and the postponement of the men's triathlon from Monday to Tuesday. While Michel is the first publicly known hospitalisation among swimmers or triathletes, the cleanliness of Paris' main waterway has been under intense scrutiny in the lead-up to this summer's Olympic Games.
Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen, who competed alongside Michel on July 31, provided alarming insight into the river's quality during an interview with local TV station VTM.
"While swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn't think about too much," Vermeylen remarked. "I drank a lot of water, so we'll know tomorrow if I'm sick or not. It doesn't taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite, of course. The Seine has been dirty for a hundred years, so they can't say the safety of the athletes is a priority."
Vermeylen also highlighted the infamous state of the Seine where a swimming ban has been effective for a century despite the triathlon's scenic route through some of Paris's most splendid boulevards like the Champs-Elysees and Boulevard Saint-Germain. Even with the $1.5 billion investment by Olympic organisers to clean the river, its reputation lingers.
In an effort to showcase the river's purported cleanliness, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo made headlines with her swim in the Seine before the event. All seemed well until heavy rainfall during the opening ceremony washed away many of the extensive, and expensive, preparations.
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