US Triathlete Trains For A Swim In The Seine By Not Washing His Hands After Using The Bathroom

We've known for quite some time that the Seine — no matter how much French politicians try to prove it's clean — is absolutely filthy, which led to questions about whether it would be ready to host Olympic events.

The Women's triathlon went ahead on Wednesday as did the men's, which was postponed from its planned start on Tuesday because of water quality concerns.

However, one US triathlete was expecting this and has worked on how to handle a potential brush with E. coli in his training regimen.

How does one do that? Simple: don't wash your hands after using the bathroom.

…wait; so is that why I've seen so many people skip a quick wash after using the bathroom? They're all triathletes?

"We know that there’s going to be some E. coli exposure, so I just try to increase my E. coli threshold by exposing myself to a bit of E. coli in your day-to-day life," US triathlete Seth Rider told The Athletic.

"And it’s actually backed by science. Proven methods. Just little things throughout your day, like not washing your hands after you go to the bathroom."

Seth Rider of Team USA emerges from the Seine during the men's triathlon, probably thankful he upped his exposure to E. coli ahead of time. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

That's it. That's all I needed to hear: no one deserved a gold in men's triathlon more than Seth Rider.

The guy is taking the Papi from Seinfeld approach to training, and that might give him the edge.

Think about it. Midway through the cycling leg, other competitors might start to feel their stomachs gurgling, but Seth can just keep those legs churning because he's basically been micro-dosing E. coli.

Unfortunately, Seth came home in 29th and was the top American, but the field was tight. He crossed the line within four minutes of the gold medal winner.

Again, nothing but respect for the dedication to the sport, but Olympic organizers probably shouldn't have let it get to the point where competitors felt like this was a necessary thing to add to the training routine.