Gold medallist stays overnight in park: "No air conditioning and food is bad in Olympic village"
23-year-old Italian Thomas Ceccon swam his way into the history books by taking gold in the 100-metre backstroke at the Paris Olympics. What turns out to be not so memorable are the conditions in which Olympic athletes have to stay in the French capital. For instance, gold medallist Ceccon made it painfully clear by spending the night on a towel in an outdoor park.
In the 200 metres, Ceccon did not come close to repeating his feat in the 100 metres. And during an interview with the Italian Rai, he pointed the finger at the poor conditions in which these pros athletes have to prepare for their race in the Olympic village.
"In the village there is no air conditioning, it is hot, the food is bad. Many athletes move because of this," he opined, clearly irritated. "It's just the story that maybe not everyone knows. I certainly don't want to invoke this as an excuse, because every athlete faces the same situations and we are in the same circumstances. But it's something a lot of people probably don't know and I want to tell that story."
And so that led to the Italian, in order to escape the heat somewhat anyway, sleeping outdoors in a park. Saudi rower Husein Alireza shared the striking scene in a story on Instagram.
(SR for Tagtik/Picture: Instagram story Husein Alireza)
