Just for a chance at Olympics glory, triathletes in Paris, France have to swim in the notoriously polluted River Seine.

Canadian triathlete Tyler Mislawchuk, 29, literally put it all on the line during the men's triathlon on Jul. 31, and ended up puking at the finish line after the swimming segment in the Seine.

The moment where he lost his lunch was broadcast on live television.

Swim the River Seine they said.

It'll be fun they said 😭#Triathlon #Paris2024 #Olympics https://t.co/L1f4PN95VU pic.twitter.com/yiUJTKNBBk

— Priyant (@Priyant1987) July 31, 2024

Three-time Olympian Mislawchuk, who had battled injuries for several years to make it to the event, finished in 9th place — his personal best.

He told Canadian media, “I didn’t come here to come top 10, but I gave it everything I had.”

“I went for it, I have no regrets … vomited 10 times.”

A running joke

Other athletes at the Games also referenced the poor water quality of the Seine.

American long-distance swimmer Mariah Denigan shared a tongue-in-cheek TikTok video about how she would "prepare" for the open-water race in the Seine — by swimming with duct tape over her mouth.

@mariahdenigan03 Replying to @Courtney Prepping to swim a 10k in 💩 water #thisisajoke #Paris2024 #poopprotest #openwaterswimming ♬ original sound - Swif

Another triathlete, South African Jamie Riddle, joked after the event to French media, "I'm definitely going to be visiting the bathroom later."

"I swallowed gallons and gallons of water, so that's going to be a fun, post-race party," he added.

Background

Swimming has been off-limits in the polluted River Seine for more than a century.

However, to prepare for the swimming events in the Paris Olympics, the city has poured US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) since 2015 to try to clean it up.

On Jul. 17, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo swam for about 100m in the Seine along with 100 athletes, officials and other locals to prove it was clean enough to host swimming competitions.

@mothershipsg Prior to this, swimming in the Seine was banned for over a century. #seine #paris #olympics ♬ Epic News - DM Production

Nevertheless, water quality tests in June revealed unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, APNews reported.

Although results improved in early July, heavy rain on Jul. 26 and 27 dirtied the river with sewage and forced authorities to postpone the open-water event "for health reasons", The Guardian reported.

As such, the men's triathlon had to be pushed back by one day to Jul. 31.

Top image from @danawang/TikTok & @priyanth1987 / X