"Needed to freshen up." Olympic champion in Paris admits she quenched her thirst straight from Seine

Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands won gold today in the 2024 Olympic Games in the ten-kilometre marathon swim.

After the awarding, the athlete admitted that it was very hot and she had to drink water from the Seine.

"I was thirsty, I needed to refresh myself. So I thought, 'I'll drink water from the Seine'. I didn't care, it was cold, it was nice. I didn't feel anything. In other races you would taste fish or seawater, this one was fine."

The Dutch swimmer admitted that she was already feeling ill on Thursday due to nerves, so she didn't mind the possible consequences.

"I had already vomited twice in the morning before the race. Because of stress, not because of water, so if I throw up today, it's fine," CNN quoted Sharon van Rouwendaal as saying.

For the Dutchwoman van Rouwendaal, this is the third consecutive medal at the Olympic Games. She is the 2016 Olympic champion in Rio and a silver medallist at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

She is also a three-time world champion and seven-time European champion.