Olympic swimmers who have been swimming in the Seine River have turned to the official partner of the Games, Coca-Cola, to fend off any infection from bacteria in the water.
Top swimmers now swear by the beverage, according to athletes from different teams who spoke with The Wall Street Journal.
“There’s no harm in drinking a Coke after a race,” New Zealand triathlete Ainsley Thorp said. “If you Google it, it says it can help.”
“The myth of Coca-Cola is true,” Moesha Johnson of Team Australia said. “We will often have a Coca-Cola afterward just to try to flush out anything inside of us.”
Johnson mentioned the solution was not her own idea, saying, “I just do what I’m told by the professionals around me.”
Although the theory that Coca-Cola may be useful for the gut is being endorsed by the best of the best, the president of the American Gastroenterological Association, Dr. Maria Abreu, isn’t as inclined to agree. She told the outlet that since a healthy stomach is more acidic than Coke, the beverage wouldn’t be able to kill off any additional bacteria.
“These are young, athletic people,” she explained. “They’re going to be healthy people whose stomach acid is going to be nice and robust.”
Water quality in the Seine has been a persistent concern in Paris. Swimming in the river has largely been prohibited for the last century because the long-polluted river contains bacteria-laden wastewater, creating unsafe levels of E. coli.
While World Aquatics has ensured that the quality is within acceptable guidelines for illness-causing bacteria, swimmers are taking extra precautions to avoid any unforeseen problems.
Bronze medalist Daniel Wiffen of Ireland, who won gold in the 800 free, said he wouldn’t train ahead of time in the Seine: “I don’t want to try to deal with any illness.” He added he would rather go “in blind” for an event, opting for pools.
Others who dove into the waterway admitted they weren’t so sure about competing there.
“I think if anyone’s saying they’re not concerned at all, they’re probably lying,” Austria’s Felix Aubeck shared. “I am concerned. I just hope and trust the organization in the sense that they will let us in only when it’s safe enough to do so. But, of course, you’re concerned because no one wants to get ill.”
Belgium’s Olympic committee (COIB) withdrew from the mixed relay triathlon event after Claire Michel, who swam in the Seine River last week, became ill. Belgian newspaper De Standaard claimed that the 35-year-old was infected with E. coli.
