UPDATE (01/08/2024): The Olympian who was caught throwing up following a hellacious triathlon at the Paris Games has revealed what caused his visceral reaction following the race.
Tyler Mislawchuk of Team Canada went viral on social media after he was spotted emptying his stomach after crossing the finishing line in 9th place after last week's race on Wednesday (July 31).
The New York Post reports that the athlete vomited after swimming in the Seine River - sparking concerns on social media about the safety of the river's pollution levels.
Now, in an interview with Triathlon Magazine, Mislawchuk has revealed what really caused his "gut reaction".
The Canadian star revealed that he was actually struggling with the heat, saying: "I have no ‘what ifs’ on the day, I went for it, it was absolutely everything. I vomited 10 times after the race … it got hot in the last laps.
"I’m just a kid from Winnipeg, well, specifically Oak Bluff, where it’s –50 (Celcius) in the winter, and I’m here at the Summer Olympics."
Mislawchuk's comments come after Belgium's Jolien Vermeylen also opened up about her 1500m swim in the river on Wednesday.
The Metro reported that Vermeylen told the TV channel VTM that she was worried about getting "sick".
"I drank a lot of water, so we’ll know tomorrow if I’m sick or not," she told the outlet. "It doesn’t taste like Coca-Cola or Sprite, of course."
She also stated that while swimming under the bridge, she "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 bull****," she added.
ORIGINAL: An Olympic athlete was caught violently vomiting on live television after swimming in the Seine river - a sight that has caused some concern among fans.
With all the controversy surrounding the water quality of the River Seine for the Paris 2024 Olympics, people were shocked to find out that the formerly postponed triathlon event was given the go-ahead earlier today.
Both the men's and women's races took place with France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and Alex Yee securing the gold medal in their respective tournaments.
However, speculation about the polluted waters of the Seine continued even after the events were over after seeing Canadian triathlete Tyler Mislawchuk vomit violently after crossing the finish line.
A video of the incident immediately started doing the rounds online, leading people to question whether the proper checks were done before allowing competitors to jump into the murky waters of the Parisian river.
"Seine’s #Triathlon game has been postponed several times because of pollution problems, and today's vomiting may be another example of the need for the French to keep cleaning up their mother river. Congratulations again to the winner Alex Yee of the UK, it was not easy for him," wrote one user.
"Few triathletes vomiting straight after the race, pushed too hard or is that dirty Seine river water making its way back up…?" another added.
"Despite ongoing concerns that the Seine River is dangerously polluted, triathletes actually swam in it to complete this part of the event. One swimmer was caught vomiting on live TV. Bacteria levels were deemed to be low enough to allow swimming," a third commented on the situation.
It comes after the triathlon event had to be postponed due to concerns about the levels of pollution in the water.
For over 100 years, people have been restricted from swimming in the Seine due to high levels of harmful bacteria contaminating the water including E. coli.
The World Triathlon released a statement addressing the issue, admitting that the "quality" of water was not acceptable for the event to take place.
"Following a meeting on water quality held on 30 July at 3.30AM attended by Paris 2024, representatives of World Triathlon and their Technical and Medical Delegates, the International Olympic Committee, Météo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region involved in carrying out water quality tests, [the] decision has been made to postpone the men’s triathlon event which was due to be held on 30 July at 8AM," they said.
"Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes," the statement continued. "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."
Regardless, the winners have been determined.
Congratulations to both Beaugrand and Yee on their gold medals.