Belgium pulls out of triathlon mixed relay after relay member Claire Michel is ruled out with unspecified illness

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The Belgian triathlon team has pulled out of the mixed relay on Monday with one of its members out with an illness, the Belgian IOC announced Sunday.

Claire Michel, one of four Belgians that was supposed to compete in the mixed event, is ill after competing in the women's triathlon on Wednesday. Although the Belgian IOC did not give any details about Michel's illness, Belgian outlet De Standaard reported that Michel had been hospitalized for four days with an E. coli infection.

Michel's unspecified illness comes as the triathlon is under scrutiny due to concerns about the safety of swimming in the Seine River, which is the venue for the open swimming portion of the event. After spending $1.5 billion to clean up the river, both triathlon events were postponed due to concerns about water quality.

Heavy rains that drenched the Olympic Opening Ceremony further affected the triathlon event, as the rainfall brought in contaminated sewage and erased much of the cleanup efforts. As a result, scheduled practices were canceled, and the men's event was postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday after testing found unsafe levels of pathogens — specifically, E. coli.

The athletes seemed unconcerned about the water quality after the competition, with American Taylor Knibb quipping that she could grab a cup after being asked what it tasted like. Some triathletes did prepare by taking preventative medication, and others saved antibiotics for if they needed them.

Michel finished in 38th place in the individual event, while her teammate Jolien Vermeylen finished 24th; the other Belgians Marten Van Riel and Jelle Geens finished 22nd and 42nd, respectively, in the men's competition.

The Belgian IOC noted the triathlon team's frustrations with the changing practice and competition times in a statement on Sunday, saying in French that they "hope that lessons will be learned" for next time in terms of guaranteeing training, competition days and format. These things "must be clarified in advance and ensure that there isn't any uncertainty for the athletes, their team and their supporters."

Michel is not the first triathlete to fall ill: Swiss officials said Saturday that Adrien Brifford, who competed in the men's event on Wednesday, fell sick with a stomach infection, but that it was "impossible to say" if the infection was connected to his time in the Seine.

Brifford was replaced in the relay by Simon Westermann, but Westermann also had to pull out due to his own gastrointestinal infection. Westermann did not compete in the men's event Wednesday and had not swam in the Seine, according to the Swiss.

Norwegian triathlete Vetle Bergsvik Thorn also became sick the day after the men's triathlon, but that may have been caused by food poisoning, per The Associated Press.

Without Belgium, there will be 16 teams in the field for tomorrow's event, which is set to start at 8:00 a.m. Paris time. Competitors will swim 300m in the Seine before biking 7.0 km and then running 1.8 km.