AMERICAN triathlete Seth Rider has gone to bizarre lengths to prevent himself from catching E.coli at the Olympics – including not washing his hands after using the loo.
Triathletes at the Paris 2024 games were preparing to swim in the heavily contaminated River Seine in their bids to win gold for their respective nations.
APThe men’s triathlete event was postponed due to the water quality levels in the Seine[/caption]
APThe Seine is full of water-born bacteria[/caption]
AlamyAmerican Seth Rider prepared himself for potential E.coli exposure by not washing his hands in the build-up to the Games[/caption]
Like most rivers across the globe, the Seine has its fair share of water-born bacteria due to faecal matter in it.
Rider was fully aware of that fact before heading to Paris and took the unusual approach of not washing his hands after going to the toilet to build up a tolerance to E.coli.
The 27-year-old said: “We know there is 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 your day-to-day life.
“Just little things throughout your day, like, not washing your hands after you go to the bathroom and stuff like this.”
Rider’s disgusting pre-race preparations may prove to be in vain due to the postponement of the men’s triathlon event.
Early on Tuesday morning, it was announced the race had been postponed by 26 hours as the Seine failed to meet the hygiene levels required for swimming.
Athletes are now in limbo after last-minute tests discovered the water quality levels were still far “above the acceptable limits.”
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A statement from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon read: “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 on the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits.
“We will provide the athletes who are due to take part in the men’s triathlon event with all information on its postponement, as well as real-time updates on the situation.”
There is a very real possibility that the swimming portion of the triathlon could be scrapped altogether if the water quality levels fail to improve.
That would mean the competition would turn into a duathlon with just cycling and running legs.
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