Olympic gold medallist Thomas Ceccon spotted sleeping in park after ripping Olympic Village conditions

Olympic gold medallist Thomas Ceccon has been spotted sleeping in a park after complaining about the conditions in the Olympic Village.

Sleeping on the ground isn’t ideal, but it’s better than a cardboard bed.

That, at least, appeared to be the logic of Olympic gold medallist Thomas Ceccon, from Italy, who was spotted sleeping in a park inside the Olympic Village, the New York Post reports.

Saudi rower Husein Alireza posted a photo of Ceccon fast asleep on a white towel under a tree on Saturday, tagging the location as inside the Olympic Village.

The Italian swimmer, who won gold in the 100m backstroke, had already complained publicly about the accommodations in the Olympic Village — which have been panned throughout the Paris Games — after he failed to reach the 200m backstroke final on Wednesday.

Thomas Ceccon was spotted sleeping on a towel in a park. Picture: Instagram@huseinalireza

The Italian swimmer won gold in the 100m backstroke. Picture: Instagram@huseinalireza

“There is no airconditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad,” Ceccon said, per The Sun.

“Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or an excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everybody knows.

“I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the final, but I was too tired. It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Here, I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”

The Italian team declined additional comment to The Sun.

Ceccon has complained publicly about the accommodations in the Olympic Village. Picture: Fransois-Xavier Marit/AFP

The IOC has come under fire for a lack of airconditioning and cardboard “anti-sex” beds in the Olympic village — measures intended to help the environment — along with poor food. “There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates,” Andy Anson, the chief of the British Olympic Association, told The Times of London.

“And then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes.”

Thomas Ceccon failing to reach the 200m backstroke final. Picture: Maddie Meyer/Getty

A number of athletes, including the entire US women’s tennis team (with the exception of Coco Gauff) left the village for alternate lodging as a result. The recyclable beds have become a punchline since their introduction in 2020 because they are only meant to support one person, leading to jokes that they are sex-proof.

More concerning, though, is that they evidently do not provide restful sleep even for one person.

Matilda Kearns, of the Australian water polo team, posted that she “already had a massage to undo the damage” from the cardboard mattress. Perhaps she should try sleeping on the ground for a more restful eight hours.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission.