100m Backstroke Gold Medalist Thomas Secon
"Suffered from Heat and Noise at the Accommodation... Couldn't Sleep"
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, an Italian athlete who earned the title of 'the sexiest swimmer in the world' has become a hot topic after being spotted taking a nap outdoors instead of in the athlete village accommodation. This drew even more attention as the athlete had previously publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the Olympic village facilities.
Italian swimmer Thomas Secon is taking a nap in the park. [Photo by Hussein Alireza, Instagram capture]
On the 4th (local time), foreign media including the New York Post revealed photos of Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon (23), who won the gold medal in the 100m backstroke at the Paris Olympics, taking a nap on the grass in a park. The photos were shared by Saudi Arabian rowing athlete Hussein Alireza on his social media. In the pictures, Ceccon is lying on a white towel spread on the grass next to a park bench, with his shoes off, asleep.
Ceccon’s choice to nap outdoors instead of in the accommodation is interpreted as a protest against the Paris Olympic village facilities. Ceccon, who gained attention by winning gold in the men's 100m backstroke and bronze in the 400m freestyle relay, had previously voiced complaints about the village environment.
After failing to qualify for the 200m backstroke final on the 1st, he publicly criticized, "The weather is hot, there’s no air conditioning, and the food tastes bad." He added, "I’m disappointed not to make the final, but I was very tired," and "I usually take naps in the afternoon when I’m at home, but here it’s hard to sleep because of the heat and noise."
The Paris Olympic village accommodations have consistently faced issues since the opening, including cardboard beds, lack of air conditioning, and poor diet. The Olympic organizing committee, promoting eco-friendliness, made beds entirely from recyclable cardboard, but athletes’ complaints surfaced. Additionally, as part of the core goal to reduce the carbon footprint, no air conditioning was installed in the village, and a mainly vegetarian diet was provided, which also caused problems. Concerns were raised that even the shuttle buses responsible for athlete transportation did not have air conditioning, potentially affecting performance.
In fact, the British team openly expressed dissatisfaction with the village food and procured their own meals. Moreover, the Swedish women’s handball team purchased and placed their own mattresses on the 27th of last month, complaining that the Olympic village mattresses were too hard.
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