PARIS: Irish double medal-winning Olympian Daniel Wiffen said on Monday he had “rushed” to hospital in Paris with a stomach bug, two days after taking part in the marathon swimming in the River Seine.

The 800m swimming champion and 1,500m bronze medallist was meant to be carrying the Irish flag during Sunday’s closing ceremony, but did not appear.

“Thanks everyone who reached out, I’m incredibly disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to be flag bearer last night,” Wiffen wrote on X in the early hours of Monday.

“Yesterday I rushed to hospital as I was very unwell with a bug that I am being treated for, and am feeling better now.”

Wiffen took part in the men’s 10km marathon swim in the River Seine on Friday, finishing 18th with a time of 1 hour 58 minutes.

He did not link his illness to the water and organisers stress that health problems should not be automatically attributed to the river.

At least three athletes out of more than a hundred who took part in the men’s and women’s triathlons on July 31 reported illness after diving into the Seine during the swimming leg of the event.

They included Belgian Belgian triathlete Claire Michel who also needed medical care after suffering three days of vomiting and diarrhoea due to a virus.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2024