The Paris Olympics 2024 has certainly been a competition to remember, with athletes delivering extraordinary performances across a range of disciplines.
But bringing a group of some of the most talented and competitive human beings on the planet will inevitably result in a fair bit of drama. And this year's batch of athletes could certainly win a fair few medals in this department.
From an alleged 'inappropriate atmosphere' being stirred up at the Olympic Village, to a furious hockey field brawl, this competition has given viewers plenty to talk about, and this is before mentioning a certain River Seine problem that will have put some off their dinner.
Here, the Mirror looks at some of the crashes, brawls and controversial illnesses that have been raising eyebrows in Paris and beyond. Get ready to say 'sacré bleu'...
River Seine disaster
A number of Olympic triathletes have fallen ill after swimming in the River Seine, amid fears over high levels of Enterococci - an indicator of faecal pollution or, in layman's terms, poo. This is despite Olympic organisers splashing out £1.2 million on cleaning up the iconic yet filthy river that runs through the French capital.
Vasca Vilaca, of Portugal, was struck down with 'symptoms consistent with a pretty bad stomach flu' as told to his Instagram followers, with the 24-year-old admitting: "Vomiting, diarrhoea, headache and stomach aches is not the way I wanted to leave Paris."
Canada's Tyler Mislawchuk was seen vomiting violently on live TV after finishing in ninth place, later telling Canadian media that he'd thrown up '10 times' but had 'no regrets'. Meanwhile, New Zealander Ainsley Thorpe, who was also left with a nasty bacterial infection, has shared her go-to tip for fighting water-borne bugs - CocaCola.
Speaking with The Wall Street Journal after completing the Women's Triathalon, 26-year-old Ainsley insisted: "There's no harm in drinking a Coke after a race. If you Google it, it says it can help." Organisers won't be relying on this alleged fizzy cure alone, however, and have taken drastic action to protect athletes after World Aquatics deemed the water unsafe.
A mere 24 hours after Alex Yee - who has since been felled by an infection - led Team GB’s triathlon mixed relay quartet to a bronze medal victory, open-water recon sessions scheduled ahead of the women's 10km marathon on Thursday, August 8 and the men's race on Friday, August 9 were cancelled.
World Aquatics has since released the following statement: "The water quality review showed E. coli levels ranged from 326 to 517 (considered 'very good' to 'good') at the four collection points taken on 5 August between 5:00 and 6:00 am.
"However, Enterococci levels exceeded World Aquatics maximum thresholds during the morning review. The latest Enterococci samples (taken between 12:30 and 13:20 on 4 August) showed levels exceeding the maximum acceptable World Aquatics thresholds. [...] With a favourable weather forecast and forward-looking analysis, World Aquatics and Paris 2024 remain confident that the Marathon Swimming competitions on 8 and 9 August will proceed as planned."
Horror smash
A terrifying 40mph cyclist collision at the women's keirin event left three racers injured, with medics at the velodrome rushing to assist as panicked audience members looked on. The smash was instigated after Netherlands star Steffie van der Peet's bike slipped from underneath her, causing her to fall and hurtle into Chinese athlete Yuan Liying's back wheel.
The pair then careened into the path of Belgium’s Nicky Degrendele, who was thrust over her handlebars, with her head appearing to smack against the ground. Nicky, appeared to be in discomfort as medics attended to her, while Yuan was visibly distressed. Meanwhile, Steffie was left with burns to her back with the sheer velocity of the crash causing her clothes to rip.
Team members had to collect chunks missing from wheels and handlebars from the track, while Olympic staff were on hand to repair the track. Officials used a hoover to remove lingering debris, covering up any surface dents with tape. Out of the felled trio, Steffie was the only one to make it to the women's keirin final, securing 11th place.
Bitter brawl
The men's hockey final between Germany and the Netherlands became heated after Dutch player Duco Telgenkamp appeared to openly gloat after securing his team a gold medal victory in a penalty shoot-out. And things quickly got out of hand from there.
The Dutch team appeared jubilant after securing their first major title in nearly a quarter of a century, and Duco, 22, took things a step further, approaching German keeper Jean-Paul Danneberg and making a 'shushing' gesture. Jean-Paul's furious teammate Niklas Wellen then rushed to his defence - going to confront Duco who stuck out his tongue as a scuffle erupted between the rival sides.
A number of fans were disappointed by what they regarded as a lack of sportsmanship on Duco's part, with boos heard as he collected his team's gold medal. As per The Hockey Paper, Duco later addressed the controversy, stating: "In hindsight, I shouldn't have gone to him. I regret that. I also apologise. I should have let it go and it wasn't very smart. But it's also a bit the nature of the beast. I can be very cool-headed, but I can also let myself go. Is that part of it?"
Meanwhile, Jean-Paul said: "It seems like quite a few fuses have blown. My sincere condolences for such unsportsmanlike behaviour."
'Selfish' jibes
After bagging a Bronze medal in the men's 100m race, US track and field sprinter Noah Lyles appeared notably fatigued and was seen being helped away from the finish line in a wheelchair. Shortly after securing his third place medal, the 27-year-old confirmed he had tested positive for Covid, and that he was 'proud' of himself for persevering in the competition, despite feeling 'really horrible'.
In a post-race interview with NBC News, six-time world champ Noah revealed: "I woke up early, about 5am, on Tuesday morning and I was feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100m. I woke up the doctors and we tested and unfortunately, it came up that I was positive for Covid.
"My first thought was not to panic – I've been in worse situations and run with worse conditions. We just took it day by day, trying to hydrate as much, quarantining. It's taken its toll for sure but I've never been more proud of myself for being able to come out here and get a bronze medal."
However, not everybody was impressed by Noah's decision to run despite feeling so ill, with BBC sports pundit Gabby Logan stating that the Florida-born runner's choice could be viewed as 'selfish'. Speaking from the track-side studio, an audibly perturbed Gabby remarked: "Just hearing… we've been told by US Track and Field that Noah Lyles has got Covid.
"A decision to race is one thing when you have something like that but also the introductions [stadium entrances]… really interesting, that that's a waste of energy. There's also, I imagine, some people thinking, 'Well hang on, you're going in the call room, you're with people in a small space, there's a potential to give other people Covid'. It seems to be quite a selfish decision'."
Gabby's fellow commentator Michael Johnson also took issue with Noah deciding to embrace silver medalist Kenny Bednarek despite knowing full well that he was infected, describing the situation as 'really weird'. The retired sprinter noted: "Very bizarre because Covid is still a dangerous disease and Kenny Bednarek is a member of the 4x100m relay team so it's just bizarre. The whole thing is really weird. There's gonna be all this sort of thing about there being Noah Lyles haters out there and he's set himself up for that.
"There's going to be people saying it's not real and he's faking or whatever, but putting that aside… having Covid and being out here in close proximity with other people… I know there's probably not a policy I guess at these Games. But still, morally I'm not sure about it."
Runners' feud
Faith Kipyegon will now take home a silver medal in the women's 5000 metres final, after what has been a rollercoaster journey for the Kenyan middle and long-distance runner. 30-year-old Faith was left in limbo for more than two hours as to whether or not she'd be awarded the second place honour after a temporary disqualification left her dreams hanging in the balance.
The current world record holder crossed the finish line mere seconds after her compatriot Beatrice Chebet to complete a remarkable one-two for Kenya. However, team celebrations were short-lived after it was ruled Faith had obstructed Gudaf Tsegay during a clash in the final leg of the tense race. She has since been reinstated following a successful appeal. Teammate Beatrice said: "It wasn't Faith’s fault. I was behind them and Faith was in the inside lane. Gudaf tried to get into Faith's lane.
"Faith had to use her hand to tell Gudaf 'Don't push me'. It wasn't Faith's fault, she lost her balance and tried to avoid stepping out of the track."
'Inappropriate' claims
Swimmer Luana Alonso has had to come forward to dispel reports that she'd been booted out of the athletes' village, shortly after making her shock retirement announcement. Last week, team officials claimed the 20-year-old Paraguayan athlete had been asked to leave the village immediately after narrowly missing out on a semi-final place, as she'd created an 'inappropriate atmosphere'.
Larissa Schaerer, the head of the COP mission in Paraguay, gave the following statement: "Her presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay. We thank her for proceeding as instructed, as it was of her own free will that she did not spend the night in the Athletes' Village."
However, glam Luana has hit back at this statement, and has begged fans to stop spreading 'false information'. Taking to Instagram, the retired champ wrote: "I just wanted to clarify that I was never kicked out or expelled from anywhere, please stop spreading false information. I don't want to make any statement but I'm not going to let lies affect me either."
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