Reported in The Mirror online

Competitors taking part in a triathlon which involved swimming in the River Thames have been struck down with vomiting and diarrhoea with some even rushed to hospital because they felt so unwell.

A large group took part in the Royal Windsor Triathlon in Berkshire on Sunday, but a number said – after swimming in the river – that they became ill. Organisers of the event claimed that they had tested the water prior to the triathlon and found that it passed the levels approved by the British Triathlon Federation.

Some of those taking part blamed sewage pollution for contracting the illness which led to tiredness and feeling generally unwell. One man said that it was too much of a coincidence for the cause to be anything other sewage pollution in the Thames at Windsor. Last month, The Boulter’s Lock to Bray Swim in Maidenhead, Berks, was cancelled because of fears about sewage.

The BBC reported that Rebecca Norman said she had to go to A&E after feeling sick 24 hours after the Royal Windsor Triathlon on Sunday. The 21-year-old shared her experience on social media and had seen several other people also report being seriously ill since the race.

Human Race reportedly said it had conducted water tests in the weeks leading up to the event which “met the standards set by the British Triathlon Federation”. Thames Water said people would be “misinformed to automatically conclude” the issues were caused by its activities, and said its nearest sewage treatment works in Slough had not discharged since early April.