On Wednesday evening, after missing the men’s 200m back final, the 100m back Olympic champion, Italian Thomas Ceccon explained that after five days, tiredness is taking its toll due to the conditions of the athlete accommodations in the Olympic Village in Paris.
In the past few days we reporting the remarks of athletes from all sports and around the world about the 2024 Olympic village in Paris.
From the very first hours and even before the Olympics were officially opened, the Organizing Committee had received a lot of criticism for the management of the event and for not making the 10,000 athletes from all over the World comfortable.
In the first hours of the Olympic Village’s opening, the restaurant faced a food emergency. After trying to deal with the food shortage, some teams proceeded to send their chefs to Paris to meet the needs of their athletes.
In addition to food, the quality of sleep also left something to be desired. There were those who had beds and mattresses flown in from their own countries, while others bought them online and had them delivered directly to the Village.
South Korean swimmers also left the Village before competition in the pool even got underway on Friday 27th July and a few days later, other athletes decided to leave the Village and stay in hotels or even mountain chateaus.
ROOMS WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONERS
Thomas Ceccon said to Italian TV broadcaster Rai:
In the Village there is no air conditioning, it’s hot, the food is bad. Many athletes move because of this … it is not an alibi it is the pure chronicle of what perhaps not everyone knows
I emphasize that this is not meant to be an excuse or an alibi, we are all experiencing the same situations and are in the same conditions. It is one thing many people probably do not know and it is right to tell the story.
Maybe I did not go into the water with the same conviction that I had in the 100m, and that was my mistake, it will serve me well in the future. I’m disappointed that I didn’t make a finals time, but I was tired too.
I gave up in the semi-final … a little tired you have a hard time sleeping both at night and in the afternoon, between noise and heat.
Yes it’s hot for me too, in the Village there is no air conditioning, we don’t eat well and there are problems with the food. Many athletes move for these reasons
Last summer, organizers of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris revealed that air conditioning would not be installed in the Athletes’ Village to limit the Games’ carbon footprint.
At the time, Laurent Michaud, director of Paris 2024, said traditional air conditioning would not be necessary because “thanks to the insulation of the buildings we can contain the coolness of the night until the next day and this helps to maintain an acceptable indoor temperature.” (Reuters)
However, the Australian Olympic Committee was among the NOCs that invested more than $100,000 worth of portable air conditioners in athletes’ rooms. That has proven a salient move – while cooler temperatures are coming, it reached as high as 96 degrees during the day in the early part of the Games, though it still cools off at night.
THE FOOD.
The issue of poor and low-quality food was also raised in the early hours of the Village’s opening. On July 26, the day of the opening ceremony, we reported how entire teams had brought in their own chefs to make up for the lack and poor quality of food.
Andy Anson, chief executive officer of the British Olympic Association, said “ food in France is proving to be a major problem. There are not enough foods: eggs, chicken, some carbohydrates. And then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to the athletes“.
Guys, the village is designed with a low carbon footprint in mind. They made sustainable choices to limit the temperature inside the buildings. I’m absolutely sure that these choices are far more expensivem than simply creating basic buildings with AC.
Regarding the quantity of food, I agree that it isn’t acceptable. As for the beds, just get a mattress topper.
You guys love to criticize.
The sites are sublime. The opening ceremony on the Seine was spectacular. The atmosphere is fantastic.
Come on, can we see the bright side for once?
What’s more important the athlete’s performance or the opening ceremony? Your comment is a joke…
There’s no such thing as an environmentally friendly mega-event that involves tens of thousands of people flying in on planes that burn 1000s of gallons of fuel per trip. The athletes who give their blood sweat and tears deserve the best. Meanwhile, the greediest, slimiest corporations will make billions off the marketing exposure. The French organizers should be incredibly ashamed.
Are they (French) going to run the 2030 Winter Olympics in without heaters?
Isn’t this what every oylmpic village is like? I thought the US coaches would always talk about how the conditions at the olympics are sometimes worse than domestic events when comparing the village, commute, etc. I mean didn’t Bolt and Lochte only eat at McDonalds during Bijing?
It’s never like home, but hot locations have had air conditioning in the dorms and on the buses.
I do not fault the organizers for the mattresses since each person likes a different type of mattress and it would be nearly impossible to get one that each athlete likes. It does surprise me that the athletes don’t have mattress toppers. When I watch the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, they talk about how the teams have mattress toppers for each athlete that are tailored to that athlete since the mattresses are wildly different depending on which hotel you’re in. I have one and I’m not an elite athlete. On Amazon, they are like $35 for the basic model and up to $500 for the advanced ones.
2 1/2 meals per athlete per day was an insane assumption to make
I bring the truth for you:
Italians complain about everything. End of conversation.
This is not race, but statistics.
It’s hardly a complaint. He points out first and foremost that this is not an exercise in looking for excuses, and admits he could have done better. I actually like the way Ceccon comes across in interviews – very classy and humble.
As regard to living conditions, Ceccon is not the first to talk about how terrible they’ve been and he surely won’t be the last either.
You misspelled “French” (I’m one of them so don’t come at me)
Totally disagreed. In the middle of European summer without air conditioning is inhumane. In my country with comparable temperature, even inmates entitled AC.
Your country’s woke policy sucks.
The Olympics – making a difference in the climate transition by refusing to provide AC to 11000 people! Truly an inspiration for the exciting green future!
This message is brought to you by CMA CGM, Coca Cola, Intel, Samsung, P&G, ArcelorMittal, etc…
I know I shouldn’t promote personal political beliefs here, but the simple truth is the likes of the WEF will not allow real climate and enviromental action without a fight and bloodshed.
Don’t forget the cardboard beds so many are complaining about because it apparently reduces waste.