Olympic champ Thomas Ceccon sleeps in park to protest poor conditions at Paris 2024 Games Village

New Delhi: Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon, who clinched a gold medal at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, was spotted sleeping in a park after he publicly complained about the appalling conditions in the Games Village at the Paris Olympics 2024. The Italian bagged a gold medal in the men’s 100m backstroke event and openly slammed the organisers for providing a below-par arrangement at the Games village.

As many athletes have moved out of the village in search of better accommodation, it seems Ceccon too was in search of a new place. He was recently spotted taking a nap under a tree in the park with a white towel under his head. A short video of this moment was captured by Saudi Arabia’s rower Husein Alireza, who posted it as an Instagram story, also mentioning the location as the Games village in Saint-Denis.

Ceccon had openly criticised the living conditions as he said, “Many athletes move for this reason – it’s not an alibi or excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everyone knows. Usually, when I’m at home, I always sleep in the afternoon but… here I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”

Here’s the video of him sleeping in a park – 

Italy’s Swimmer, Thomas Ceccon sleeping outside because he was fed up with no A/C in the Olympic village. Bro, got his rest and locked🥇 pic.twitter.com/YIjjG3lwFo

— Del Walker 🇵🇸 (@TheCartelDel) August 4, 2024

Italian gold medal-winning swimmer Thomas Ceccon sleeping next to park bench. He complained about the lack of A/C and noise inside the athletes village. pic.twitter.com/xQADZ37T4h

— SAINT (@saint) August 4, 2024

Players facing similar issue

It is to be noted that temperatures are soaring in both Paris and Chateauroux, which are the two main venues for the Summer Games 2024. However, Ceccon is not the only athlete to point out serious issues with the given arrangements. He is a fresh add-up to the list of the players being critical of the same. Coco Gauff, Ariarne Titmus, and Assia Touati have also complained about the conditions given by the organisers.

Australian swimmer Titmus felt that she could have broken the world record had she been given better facilities at the village, although she defended her Olympic gold medal in the 400m freestyle event.

“It probably wasn’t the time I thought I was capable of, but living in the Olympic Village makes it hard to perform. It’s definitely not made for high performance, so it’s about who can really keep it together in the mind,” Titmus said. The organisers in their defense cited sustainability as the primary reason. Even the beds in the village made headlines, for being constructed of 100% recyclable mattresses and cardboard frames, with the bases made up of recycled cardboard.

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 Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon was spotted sleeping in a park in Saint-Denis after being critical of living conditions in the Games Village at the Paris Olympics 2024.  Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today