Paris Olympics heat takes its toll: Mislawchuk finishes ninth amid grueling conditions
Canadian triathlete Tyler Mislawchuk barely finished the race at the Paris Olympics. Cameras captured the moment the 29-year-old vomited just after crossing the finish line. Other athletes collapsed from exhaustion against the advertising boards.
The temperature in Paris is taking its toll on athletes in all disciplines. On Wednesday, July 31, thermometers indicated 32 degrees Celsius, particularly challenging for long-distance races. The best, albeit very unpleasant, evidence of this were the images shown by BBC cameras after the triathlon concluded.
The 29-year-old Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk reached the finish of the "gruelling" race with a time of 1 hour 39 minutes 41 seconds GMT, but his exhaustion was evident. The athlete finished in ninth place, which did not bring him much satisfaction, given the enormous effort he put in to complete the competition.
Just after crossing the finish line, the athlete couldn't hold back and vomited, which was shown live on television. Furthermore, the "Daily Mail" reports that in an interview with Canadian media, the triathlete stated that he vomited ten more times.
'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 - the athlete reportedly said.
2024 Olympics. Triathlete vomits after long race
The winner of the race was Britain's Alex Yee, who overtook New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde shortly before the end of the race. Organisers decided to shift the competition from Tuesday to Wednesday due to poor water quality in the Seine. Furthermore, the men's competition was scheduled immediately after the women’s, when the thermometers showed the highest temperatures.
Bacterial samples taken from the river showed significantly lower levels than the previous day. Therefore, the athletes were allowed to compete. The triathletes swam 1.4 kilometres in the Seine.
