The closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games is now behind us, however, the night didn’t go exactly as planned for one gold medalist.
Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, winner of the men’s 800m free, was set to carry his nation’s flag during the ceremony. However, the 23-year-old had to miss the entire event due to being ill
‘Thanks everyone who reached out. I’m incredibly disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to be flag bearer last night,” Wiffen wrote on social media.
‘Yesterday I was rushed to hospital as I was very unwell with a bug that I am being treated for, and am feeling better now. I hope everyone enjoys the evening.’
In addition to his pool events, Wiffen competed in his first-ever open water swim while in Paris. Swimmers who qualified and raced in the 800m or 1500m free were granted a slot in the 10k open water event in Paris.
Post-race, Wiffen said with a smile that he was ‘never doing it again.’
Although Wiffen doesn’t point to the cause of his illness, we’ve reported how multiple other open water swimmers have suffered various ailments. Germany’s Leonie Beck, for example, vomited nine times and also experienced diarrhea after competing in the Seine River.
The water quality of the Seine came into concern in both the lead-up to the Paris Olympics as well as during potential training sessions and competitions in the last two weeks.
Over a billion euros were spent on the cleaning of the river in hopes of its ability to host the competitions. Swimming in the river was banned since 1923. In late June, the river failed a water quality test as it reported E. Coli levels that were 10x above the acceptable limit. (Swimswam)
We’ve since seen Wiffen land in Dublin along with his teammates and visually appears to be doing better.
Thanks everyone who reached out, I’m incredibly disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to be flag bearer last night.
Yesterday I rushed to hospital as I was very unwell with a bug that I am being treated for, and am feeling better now. I hope everyone enjoys the evening…
— Daniel Wiffen (@WiffenDaniel) August 12, 2024
Touched down in Ireland 🛬 💚
Location: Dublin City 📍#TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/Wp8kFMd0yt
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) August 12, 2024
“to swim in the Seine is to swim insane”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Did he swim in the open water?
Bad pint, clearly.
No need to put Leonie on blast like that omg 💀💀
Literally a billion euros down the drain.
I guess the lesson is don’t F up the environment in the first place bc it’s damn near impossible to fix later
I hope he gets the honour at the Opening Ceremony in LA.
He clearly was not as familiar with Open swimming events. He did not know that was not a Baby Ruth floating by him at the feeding station. Swimming in the Seine added new risks that you do not normally have to cover in the pre race debriefing.
Partied too hard?
He was just trying to kill the e.coli with alcohol
yet another one of the many open water and triathlon swimmers who got sick from swimming in the Seine.
mate I’ve participated in some absolute ragers in college and not once did I ever get sent to the hospital. The Seine is the culprit