'I saw things I don't want to think about': Disgusted triathlete opens up on what it was REALLY like to swim in the Seine

A repulsed triathlete has revealed really disgusting it is to aquatics successful nan River Seine - and slammed 'bull****' astir organisers keeping Olympians safe.

Belgian prima Jolien Vermeylen was portion of nan contingent wthat swam 1.5 kilometres successful nan Seine connected Wednesday arsenic Brit Beth Potter brought location a bronze medal. 

The women's triathlon had been postponed connected Tuesday aft tests revealed nan Seine was not cleanable capable to aquatics in. 

Around £1.2billion was spent clearing up a river that had seen a 100-year swimming prohibition - but arsenic precocious arsenic June it had 10 times nan permitted E.coli germs levels.

'While nether nan bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn’t deliberation astir excessively much,' Vermeylen told VTM. 

'The Seine has been soiled for a 100 years, truthful they can’t opportunity that nan information of nan athletes is simply a priority. That’s bulls***!'

A connection from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon had read: 'Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their privilege is nan wellness of nan athletes.' 

Vermeylen, who vanished 24th, added: 'I drank a batch of water, truthful we’ll cognize tomorrow if I’m sick aliases not. It doesn’t sensation for illustration Coca-Cola aliases Sprite, of course. 

'If nan title hadn’t taken place, it would person been a ugliness for nan organisation, for Paris, for France. It was now aliases never, and they couldn’t cancel nan title wholly either.

'Now they conscionable person to dream that location won’t beryllium excessively galore sick athletes. I took pro-biotics, I drank my Yakult, I couldn’t do more.

'I had nan thought of ​​not drinking water, but yes, it failed. Just for illustration I had nan thought of ​​not falling but that grounded too.'

There were fears that Olympic chiefs would person to cancel nan swimming conception of nan triathlon and person it to a duathlon. 

Triathlon training sessions successful nan Seine were cancelled on Sunday and Monday, leaving athletes successful nan acheronian astir whether nan swimming would spell ahead. 

Swimming successful nan Seine, which dissects Paris, has been banned since 1923. In 1990, Jacques Chirac, past politician of nan city, famously declared that he would make it cleanable capable to enter, but grounded successful his mission.

Parisians had threatened to defecate successful nan stream successful nan build-up to nan Olympics successful protestation against nan seemingly ineffective spending to clear it up.  

Meanwhile, nan head wide of Paris 2024 refused to apologise to competitors erstwhile asked by Mail Sport if he would do so.

‘We person to wait,’ Etienne Thobois said. ‘We don’t do fabrication scenarios. We are very respectful of nan athletes. They are nan bosom of nan Games. We person done everything we could successful narration pinch nan world federations and nationalist authorities to execute nan extremity of swimming successful nan Seine which will beryllium a awesome legacy.'

While Potter brought location bronze successful nan women's triathlon, Alex Yee managed gold successful nan men's iteration. 

Clawing retired other resevres of power successful nan last gasps of nan race, Yee overtook an exhausted Hayden Wilde successful nan last moments and vanished six seconds up of nan New Zealand athlete. 

August 5 will spot nan mixed triathlon relay.