Fans React to Photos of Gold Medalist Sleeping in Park Due to Poor Conditions at Paris Olympics: 'What a Mess'

From cardboard beds to barely-edible food, the accommodations for athletes competing in the Paris Olympics have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. One gold medalist was seemingly so fed up with the Olympic Village dorms that he even chose to sleep outside in a park instead of in his sweltering room, and fans are appalled by the situation.

Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon, who won gold in the 100-meter backstroke, was spotted sleeping on the ground in a photo posted to Instagram by Saudi rower Husein Alireza on Saturday (the location was tagged as inside the Olympic Village).

As The Sun reported, Ceccon had already complained about the conditions in the Olympic Village prior to the photo being taken.

"There is no air conditioning in the village, it's hot, the food is bad," Ceccon said. "Many athletes move for this reason: it's not an alibi or excuse, it's the reality of what perhaps not everyone knows."

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Commenters couldn't get over the image of the world-class athlete sleeping on a towel on the ground.

"This guy is a GOLD MEDALIST doing this if that doesn’t say something is up with the Olympics idk what will??," wrote one person.

"What a mess this olympic is," agreed a second Instagram user, leaving another to wonder "Is this the fyre festival of the Olympics?"

Ceccon is far from the only athlete to take issue with the way athletes have been treated at the 2024 Olympics. Gymnast Simone Biles and diver Tom Daley both commented on the "recyclable" cardboard beds (with Biles saying the "beds suck" on TikTok). American tennis player Coco Gauff explained in a video that her teammates left the village because their quarters were "too cramped." And while many athletes were huge fans of the chocolate muffins served in the Village dining hall, there were widespread problems with the quality of the food overall.

“There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates, and then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes,” Andy Anson, chief of the British Olympic Association, told the Times of London.

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