Australia’s triathletes took E.coli medicine a month before Olympics

PARIS (Reuters) – Australia’s triathletes have been taking medicines to combat E.coli for a month, the team doctor said on Monday after they took precautions ahead of the event amid concerns over pollution levels in the river Seine.

The triathlon team of Luke Willian, Matthew Hauser, Natalie van Coevorden and Sophie Linn had earlier finished 12th in the mixed relay where the swimming leg was in the river Seine.

The four athletes also took part in last week’s men’s and women’s individual triathlon events. The men’s event was postponed due to pollution levels in the Seine.

“We started by administering a medication that’s good against E.coli, which is the main bacteria in this water, a month ago,” Carolyn Broderick told reporters.

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“After the race, we’ve also been using prophylactic antibiotics and we’re using skin washes, ear washes, eye washes. So we’re trying to account for everywhere that may get infected essentially and similarly for our marathon swimmers.”