Two-time triathlon medalist hit by Seine pollution

On Monday, Britain’s Alex Yee added a bronze in the mixed relay to the Olympic title he had already won in triathlon, a sport that has been plagued by problems in the swimming segment at Paris 2024.

High levels of faecal, streptococcal and E. coli contamination have made the Seine unsuitable for swimming since 1923, with rare exceptions, and Paris’s investment in improving water quality was severely damaged by rain in the first few days.

A scenario that led to the postponement of the men’s competitions and successive cancellations of training, the last of which was scheduled for Sunday, before the mixed relay that brought the last podiums this Monday and in which Belgium, where triathlete Claire Michel fell ill with E. coli bacteria, no longer participated.

In the competition, Germany, with Tim Hellwig, Lisa Tertsch, Lasse Lührs and Laura Lindemann, won the gold medal for their first podium in the sport in the French capital, as did the United States with silver, and Great Britain with silver, the strongest athlete in the sport, the winner of the third medal, bronze.

Following Alex Yee’s Olympic title, who finished second at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and Beth Potter’s bronze among women, two triathletes contributed to another rise to the podium on Monday.

The British team finished in the same time as the USA (1:25.40), one second behind champions Germany (01:25.39), and managed to give two triathletes two medals at these Games, a gold and bronze for Yee, and two bronzes for Potter.

In the men’s category, Yee’s gold was joined by silver from New Zealander Hayden Wilden, who, like the Briton, had already won a medal at Tokyo 2020 (bronze), and bronze from France’s Leo Berger.

In the women’s event, France excelled, with Cassandra Beaugrand, who was part of the team that won bronze in the relay in Tokyo, managing to become Olympic champion this time.

Beaugrand won the event, which made its triathlon debut in Paris, six seconds behind Switzerland’s Julie Derron (silver) and 15 seconds behind Beth Potter (bronze).

Modal brought “honor” and diplomas to the Portuguese triathletes: first with the fifth and sixth places of Vasco Vilas and Ricardo Batista, Olympic debutants, and this Monday with the fifth place in the mixed relay of Ricardo Batista, Melanie Santos, Vasco Vilas and Maria Tomé.

In the men’s race, Vasco Vilasa repeated João Pereira’s fifth place at Rio 2016, the two best results for Portugal in Olympic triathlon. In the women’s race, Maria Tomé and Melanie Santos finished 11th and 45th respectively.