Gold Medalist Swimmer Sleeps Under Park Bench Due to Terrible Conditions at Olympic Village: 'Hard to Sleep'

Italian Swimmer Thomas Ceccon was clicked sleeping near a park bench just days after his heroic gold medal victory

By Jitesh Tiwari

Updated on Aug 06, 2024 | 03:07 AM IST | 108.4K

Source: Getty Images

The 2024 Paris Olympics will likely go down as one of the weirdest Olympics in history. Every other day, a new controversy seems to rear its head, giving the world's biggest athletic competition a bad reputation.

This past week, another controversy was added to the list when Italian Gold Medalist swimmer Thomas Ceccon was spotted sleeping near a park bench. Only days ago, Ceccon managed to bag Gold in Men's 100m backstroke and bronze in men's 4x100m freestyle relay.

The 23-year-old had gone viral recently for his charming and handsome looks when he braced the podium for the medal ceremony. Sadly, the Olympic champion made the headlines exactly one week after his medal victory as he was forced to abandon the Olympic Village due to unacceptable living conditions.

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On Wednesday, Ceccon narrowly missed the opportunity of winning another gold after failing to make the 200m backstroke final. Commenting on his loss, the Italian sighted his worrying experience at the village:

"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."

Ceccon is a world record holder in 100m backstroke, making his exit from the 200m backstroke final even more surprising. Being this good at your sport is a result of consistent, long-term efforts and habits. If those habits are affected in the slightest, it might end up being the difference between winning and losing.

The lack of basic amenities such as air conditioning, proper catering, and bed design has forced many athletes to skip the Olympic Village altogether.

Before the games even began, the host's decision to use cardboard beds drew tons of criticism. Those concerns became even more apparent when athletes complained about the beds being too hard.

As the absence of air conditioning became a serious issue, teams and countries spent from their own pockets to make sure the players' ambitions didn't go unrecognized.

Meanwhile, the Britain Olympic Association had to even call in personal chefs as catering options were found to be Inadequate.

All in all, the questionable arrangements for the 2024 Olympics have left a lasting, negative impression on fans and athletes. Though the games will be long remembered, their controversies will end up dominating news media, thus, taking recognition away from achievements of athletes.

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