Yogurt, probiotics, disinfectant… the British team’s plan for the triathlon in the Seine at the 2024 Olympics

The turmoil around the triathlon of the Paris Olympic Games (July 26 - August 11) organized in the Seine continues. This Monday, in the columns of The Guardian newspaper, the performance director of the British team, Mike Cavendish, explains that a very precise framework will be put in place to prevent any contamination. British triathletes will be banned from touching drinks or food after training in the river waters of the Seine, to avoid any gastrointestinal problems, until they have been “disinfected from head to toe ”, according to Mike Cavendish.

“One of the main causes of illness is not necessarily what we drink and swallow when we are in the water,” Mike Cavendish told the British newspaper. It's when you come out of the water and your hands touch your mouth and eyes. We will take their wetsuits back to our hotel, where they will be fully disinfected. And our athletes will not be allowed near their recovery items or food until we have completely disinfected them.” He also added that the suits would be disinfected with Hibiscrub after each session spent in the Seine.

The performance director also pointed out that other countries are considering using drugs to protect their athletes. Great Britain, for its part, will restrict itself to ingesting foods and probiotics. “They must allow the intestines to be truly effective in the face of pollution,” he explained. Probiotics will be taken in yogurt, kefir or in tablets.

Questioned last week, the president of the organizing committee for the Paris Olympics, Tony Estanguet, said he was "a little surprised" by the study by an NGO expressing alarm at the quality of the river's water. In the document published Monday April 8, the NGO Surfrider Foundation warned of the “alarming” state of the waters of the Seine after having carried out a sampling campaign over six months, outside the period planned for swimming.

Last year, during the test event, the mixed relay was reduced to a duathlon due to the poor water quality of the Seine.