Bizarre reason Paris Olympian has stopped washing his hands after going to the toilet

An American Olympian has resorted to not washing his hands after going to the toilet in a bid to be at his best in Paris.

Seth Rider was due to compete in the Paris Olympics triathlon on Tuesday but the event was postponed due to dirty water in the River Seine.

There were concerns over the quality of the River Seine water ahead of the Olympics and those fears have proved justified, with the men’s and women’s triathlon potentially heading for a ‘farcical’ change.

Tests on Tuesday showed the water did not meet the acceptable standard and organisers have admitted that there is only a 60% chance that the events will go ahead on Wednesday.

Great Britain’s Alex Yee is one of the favourites for gold in the men’s race but another possible medal prospect is Team USA’s Rider.

Advertisement

And the American has revealed he has been preparing for the Olympics triathlon by exposing himself to bacteria.

‘We actually raced here last year in the test event,’ Rider said. ‘I don’t think anyone got sick after that, which can’t be said about all the races we do.

‘In preparation for this race, I knew there was going to be some E.coli exposure. So I’ve been trying to increase my E.coli threshold by exposing myself to a bit of E.coli in day-to-day life.’

Asked how he’s exposed himself to more bacteria, Rider added: ‘It’s a proven method, backed by science.

‘It’s just little things, throughout your day. Like not washing your hands after you go to the bathroom and stuff like that.’

Rider poked fun at his own admission on social media on Tuesday, uploading a video showing him washing his hands and then giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

Several triathletes have expressed their frustration at the ongoing issues in Paris, with one competitor claiming the situation has been ‘disrespectful’ to the athletes and the sport.

It has been suggested that the swimming leg of the triathlon could be removed completely as a way around the problems in the French capital.

But Belgium’s Marten van Riel said: ‘If the priority was the health of the athletes this event would have been moved to another location a long time ago. We are just puppets in a puppet show.

‘Duathlon is no triathlon and changing the day like that in the middle of the night is disrespectful to the years of preparation of the athletes and to all (y)our fans that were going to watch live or on TV.

‘What an appearance for triathlon on the biggest scene.’

Assessing the chances of the triathlon taking place as planned on Wednesday, World Triathlon president Marisol Casado said: ‘We really want this to happen.

‘We were shocked this morning when we saw that it was not as fast as we wanted.’

MORE : Fencer reveals she won at Paris Olympics while seven months pregnant

MORE : Olympian reveals £1,049 gift inside every athlete’s Paris 2024 goody bag

MORE : Delicious Orie decision a ‘total robbery’ that is ‘killing Olympic boxing’, warns Johnny Nelson