Gold medalist Thomas Ceccon called his Olympic Village living conditions ‘subpar’
The Olympic Village is taking some serious heat after a gold medalist was found sleeping beside a park bench.
You would believe that living in quarters specifically designed to host the best of the best Olympians in the world would be something all of the athletes would be excited about.
But not one of them.
Instead, gold medalist Thomas Ceccon has had some harsh words about the conditions he was living in at the village.
Ceccon complained about his environment, even though he went on to pick up two medals this week.
Calling it ‘subpar’, the Italian swimmer must have decided that sleeping outdoors was far better conditions than a place with a cardboard bed and had a quick kip on the ground.
In a picture taken of him, you can see a white towel spread out on the grass under a tree and next to a bench with the swimmer curled up asleep.
It was a Saudi rower called Husein Alireza who caught Ceccom napping and posted it on his Instagram account, tagging the location as the Olympic Village grounds.
Thomas Ceccon won gold and then took a nap outside. (Instagram/ceccon_thomas)
The 23-year-old has been vocal about his accommodations since his loss during the 200m backstroke final on Wednesday July 31.
He said to reporters: “There is no air conditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad.
“Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everyone knows.
“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.
“Usually, when I’m at home, I always sleep in the afternoon: here I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”
The Italian swimming federation FIN has even been forced to clarify that the video of Ceccon asleep is unrelated to his earlier comments about the Olympic Village.
The swimmer was spotted napping beside a bench. (Instagram/huseinalireza)
They told news agency ANSA ‘it was just a nap’, also highlighting that the clip was filmed in the daytime.
However, Ceccon is not the only athlete to slate the conditions at the Olympic Village.
Team USA Coco Gauff shared that one of her female tennis teammates quit the village after finding the quarters were ‘too cramped.’
French swimmer Assia Touati recently said: “We had no AC in the bedroom but they installed it anyway because it was getting too hot.”
Australian water polo player Matilda Kearns also came out to say that she ‘already had a massage to undo the damage’ from sleeping on the mattress at the Olympic Village.
So, maybe the grassy park isn’t such a bad option after all?
