Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon won two medals at the Olympics in Paris. Apparently he needed to relax afterwards. He chose an unusual place to do so.
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- A photo of swimming star Thomas Ceccon is going around the world: it shows the Italian sleeping on a meadow next to a park bench.
- Ceccon, who won gold in the 100 m backstroke, explains in an interview that the beds in the Olympic village are too uncomfortable for him.
- Several athletes have already complained about the conditions in the Olympic village, saying that the rooms are too hot due to a lack of air conditioning and the food is not good enough.
Because the beds in the Olympic Village are too uncomfortable for him, Italian swimming star Thomas Ceccon has chosen an unusual place to take a nap. Saudi Arabian rower Husein Alireza shared a video of the 23-year-old Italian in an Instagram story, showing him sleeping on a white towel in front of a park bench. As Alireza later clarified, it was not in any public park, but in the Olympic village by the river.
Ceccon, who won gold in the 100-meter backstroke and bronze with the 4x100-meter freestyle relay team in Paris, had previously complained about the conditions in the Olympic Village.
The video of Ceccon sleeping on a park lawn spread rapidly on social media. The 23-year-old told Eurosport Italia that he had slept on the grass not far from the Olympic village because it was more comfortable than the beds in the accommodation.
Beds made of hard cardboard
"It's less uncomfortable, definitely. It's a bit hard to sleep in the beds. They're a bit hard, a bit narrow and a bit small. It's a bit difficult to sleep there," said Ceccon in the Eurosport interview. Italian breaststroker Nicolò Martinenghi was also there. He chimed in and said that the beds were about as comfortable as the bare wooden bench that could be seen on the Instagram video.
The organizers of the Summer Games in Paris are facing a lot of criticism of the Olympic Village. Gregorio Paltrinieri, another Italian swimmer, is annoyed that it is too hot in the rooms due to the lack of air conditioning. "Of the four Olympic Games I've taken part in, this time in the village is undoubtedly the worst. I never fall asleep before two o'clock in the morning because it's too hot," he tells the newspaper "Il Resto del Carlino".
He continues: "In my opinion, you can't treat athletes like this, we are the protagonists here, we should be protected, but that doesn't happen. It's unthinkable not to have air conditioning in the rooms in a climate like this." Some stars have already left the Olympic village.
