U.S. Olympic Triathlete Says He Trained For Dirty Seine River By Not Washing Hands

U.S. triathlete Seth Rider admitted that in order to prepare his body for the dirty Seine River at the 2024 Olympics ... he actually spent weeks not washing his hands.

For real.

Rider explained his super gross unique strategy to The Athletic recently, saying that he believed by exposing his body to smaller amounts of E. coli at home ... he could prepare himself for Paris' body of water that's notorious for its high levels of bacteria.

"We know that there’s going to be some E. coli exposure," the 27-year-old said, "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."

"And it's actually backed by science," he insisted. "Proven methods. Just little things throughout your day, like not washing your hands after you go to the bathroom."

It's obviously not recommended by docs ... but Rider clearly felt it was necessary -- particularly considering many had been nervous about the cleanliness of the river, especially following rain storms over the weekend.

The Paris government actually did its part in cleaning the river ... investing $1.5 billion into the city's sewer system. But, even with that, there was still concern for the safety of the Olympic athletes.

The race, however, got the the go-ahead early at around 3 AM local time ... and hours later, competitors dove head first into the water in a quest for gold.