The Italian swimmer, who won gold in the 100-meter backstroke, had already complained publicly about the accommodations in the Olympic Village, which have been panned throughout the Paris Games, after failing to reach the 200-meter backstroke final on Wednesday.
Thomas Ceccon sleeping on a towel in a park in the Olympic Village on Aug. 3, 2024. huseinalireza/Instagram
Thomas Ceccon sleeping on a towel in a park in the Olympic Village on Aug. 3, 2024. huseinalireza/Instagram
“There is no air conditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad,” Ceccon said, per The Sun . “Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or an excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everybody knows.
Gold Medalist Thomas Ceccon from Italy celebrate after the Medal Ceremony for the Men’s 100m Backstroke Final on day three of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the Paris La Defense Arena on July 29, 2024. Getty Images
“I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the final, but I was too tired. It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Here, I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”
The Italian team declined additional comment to The Sun.
The IOC has come under fire for a lack of air conditioning and cardboard “anti-sex” beds in the Olympic village — measures intended to help the environment — along with poor food.
“There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates,” Andy Anson, the chief of the British Olympic Association, told The Times of London. “And then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes.”
Thomas Ceccon of Italy (r.) after the 100m backstroke semifinals on July 28, 2024. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Italy’s Thomas Ceccon (L) and China’s Xu Jiayu as they compete in the final of the men’s 100m backstroke swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on July 29, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
A number of athletes, including the entire U.S. women’s tennis team (with the exception of Coco Gauff) left the village for alternate lodging as a result.
The recyclable beds have become a punchline since their introduction in 2020 because they are only meant to support one person, leading to jokes that they are sex-proof.
More concerning, though, is that they evidently do not provide restful sleep even for one person.
Matilda Kearns, of the Australian water polo team, posted that she “already had a massage to undo the damage” from the cardboard mattress.
Perhaps she should try sleeping on the ground for a more restful eight hours.
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