Seine River Claims Another Victim As Irish Swimmer Daniel Wiffen Is Hospitalized

To the surprise of no one, maybe it wasn't a great idea to have Olympians swimming in the Seine River, after all. And Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen is the latest athlete to find out the hard way.

Wiffen was rushed to the hospital Saturday, forcing him to miss the Closing Ceremony. The 23-year-old — who won two medals in the pool at the 2024 Olympics and also swam in the marathon event — was supposed to be a flag-bearer for Ireland. But he missed out thanks to an unspecified "bug."

"Thanks everyone who reached out, I’m incredibly disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to be flag bearer last night," Wiffen posted on X on Sunday. "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 and I hope to be well enough to seeing everyone when we get home."

And while Wiffen did not specifically blame his dip in the Seine for the ailment, this impromptu hospital trip happened just one day after he finished 18th in the men's 10K swim.

To add insult to injury, he wasn't supposed to be in that race to begin with. Wiffen earned the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and a bronze in the 1,500 free in Paris. But thanks to athlete caps set by IOC, World Aquatics allowed athletes who swam the 800 or 1,500 in the pool to option into the 10K swim in the Seine. So Wiffen gave it a go. 

But he hated it and called the event the "worst damn best thing I've ever done in my life." He retired from open water swimming immediately afterward.

READ: Irish Olympian Finishes First 10K Swim Then Promptly Retires From 10K Swimming

Daniel Wiffen was hospitalized the day after swimming a 10K in Paris' Seine River.

(Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Image)

Wiffen is not alone in his misery. Over the weekend, three German swimmers were treated for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea following their open water events. One of those athletes, Leonie Beck, posted on social media that she had diarrhea and vomited nine times.

Prior to the 2024 Summer Olympics, swimming in the Seine River had been illegal for 100 years because of high levels of pollution and bacteria in the water. The French government spent upwards of $2 billion cleaning the river to get it ready for the Paris Games.

Looks like they did a bang-up job.