U.S. Triathlete Seth Rider Shared Gross Tactic for Dealing With E. Coli at Olympics

This was quite the unconventional—and unhygienic—strategy.

Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been over a century since people were last allowed to swim in the Seine River. So, it’s only fitting that one Olympian is using a centuries-old practice ahead of the men’s triathlon event at the 2024 Paris Games.

U.S. triathlete Seth Rider, who will be making his Olympic debut this summer, recently admitted that he’s preparing for the event by, essentially, not washing his hands.

“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,” Rider said. “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.”

Rider’s head-turning comments come amid growing concerns about the water quality in the Seine River this summer. The men’s triathlon event, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed to Wednesday due to heavy rains that increased the levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the Seine. Storms or rain are forecast Tuesday night through Thursday, which could delay the event even further. Friday is planned as a backup date.

“Despite the improvement on the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits,” Olympic organizers said in a statement on Monday. 

Ahead of the Games, Paris took drastic measures to make the long-polluted Seine River suitable for swimming, pouring $1.5 billion into improving sewer infrastructure and wastewater treatment plants. 

Now, it seems, at least one Olympian is taking matters into his own unwashed hands.