Why Are Athletes Leaving the Paris 2024 Olympic Village? – Photos of Their Rooms

Things at the 2024 Paris Olympics have not been smooth sailing since the controversial opening ceremony. In early August 2024, one of the game participants chose to forgo sleeping at the Olympic Village. Italy’s Thomas Ceccon went viral after being filmed by Saudi Arabia’s Husein Alireza while napping outside.

The rower spotted the swimmer stretched out opposite a park bench, lying on a blanket next to a tree with his backpack close by, and recorded him. The Saudi Arabian athlete tagged the location as the Olympic Village grounds and captioned the Instagram post, “Rest today, conquer tomorrow.”

It wasn’t clear if the photo of the 23-year-old got taken before or after he and his teammates didn’t qualify for the men’s 4x100m medley final. Here’s some information about Ceccon.

Ceccon’s first brush with the Olympics was at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. There he won the men’s 50m freestyle title, two silver medals in the 50m backstroke and 200m individual medley. He also won a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle and the 100m backstroke relays.

The swimmer, born in 2001, narrowly missed getting another medal in the 100m backstroke when he finished fourth. In 2022, he participated in the World Championships in Budapest. There he won gold in the 100m backstroke relay and made history by breaking the world record.

In the 50m back relay, he came fourth, was fifth in the 50m butterfly, and additionally, he had a 47.5 leg in the 400m freestyle relay. At the 2022 European Championships, he excelled, taking home six medals. These included two golds in the 50m fly and 100m back.

Ceccon took bronze in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and gold in the men’s 100m backstroke in Paris. He sadly didn’t qualify for the men’s 200m backstroke final. While his skills in the water are quite admirable, some viewers noticed something else about the athlete.

Taking to X, one person wrote, “Thomas Ceccon, not Cecco. He’s the Italian Olympic champion of the 100m backstroke. Very handsome but also very funny, a crazy guy.” Responding to a photo of the swimmer, another person also focused on his looks, writing in Portuguese, “Beautiful swimmer! Face looks like a sculpture painting or those Italian frescoes.”

Retweeting a video of Ceccon, someone else wrote that he is “One of the most beautiful Italian images ever. Thomas Ceccon’s barely concealed emotion with the national anthem and the freshly won Olympic gold. Pure emotion.”

A fourth person also noticed how good-looking the athlete is and said, “Thomas Ceccon, what a beautiful man!” Before being recorded while sleeping outside, the Italian swimmer voiced his issues about the village.

Ceccon’s Complaints about the Village

The footage of Ceccon sleeping outside on the ground led FIN, the Italian swimming federation, to speak up. They denied that the athlete’s move was caused by the village’s living conditions. FIN claimed, “It was just a nap,” citing how the footage got taken during the day.

Previously, Ceccon complained about the experiences at the village, alleging that the transport and food weren’t excellent. The swimmer also complained about the noise and heat in the village. He claimed it was difficult to sleep in the afternoon and at night in the village and he was “too tired” because of no air conditioning.

The star said when he is home he sleeps in the afternoons but couldn’t do that at the Olympics. The athlete even described the food as “bad” and said that it was one of the reasons that participants left the village. Ceccon isn’t the only Olympic athlete who left the village.

On July 31, 2024, media coverage of the Paris Olympics revealed that athletes were leaving the Olympic Village. Many athletes got tired of the poor facilities in the village. Instead, athletes were leaving the Olympic Village for luxury hotels.

The US’ Emma Navaro is a tennis player who complained about the village having cardboard beds. The beds are described as anti-sex, and Navaro complained about not sleeping well on them because they’re too small.

Olympic organizers created the beds, wide enough for only one person, to try and keep the village sex-free. When Manu Bhaker was asked if she was going to sleep with her medal next to her like cricketers and their trophies, she joked, “Well, I have a very small bed; you tell me will I be able to?”

The athlete joked that she’d probably fall off the bed, so wouldn’t take the risk. The Indian athlete explained that if she had a bigger bed, she probably would’ve slept with her medal. The beds and village are part of the Paris Olympics’ effort to create a zero-waste green environment for the athletes.

The US’ Fred Richard even pre-arranged a mattress to be delivered ahead of the games so he could have a good night’s sleep. After Richard’s move, the US Gymnastics ordered mattress toppers for the rest of the team.

The beds aren’t the only issue in the village, as the hot rooms have also caused commotion. Before the Olympics began, the games were expected to be the hottest in history. But keeping with the green theme, Paris added geothermal cooling systems instead of air conditioning.

Others complained that the food was sub-par. News came out of an egg shortage while Paris chose to have more green menus. The issue led to athletes leaving before it got resolved. According to reports, one athlete claimed that they found worms in their food.

Great Britain’s Adam Peaty said he found the insects in his food at the Olympic Village and what they were offered was “just not good enough.” The 29-year-old athlete, who took a silver medal for the individual 100m breaststroke, felt the food given in Paris was below the standards compared to previous Olympics.

His team was forced to get a chef to Paris because of “inadequate” food served early in the Olympics. Peaty said pushing for a more sustainable Olympic Games was what caused the organizers to fall short. The Paris Games pledged to make 60% of meals meat-free.

The swimmer wanted to eat meat and said he relied on it to perform. He ate meat at home and couldn’t understand why that had to change. Peaty also enjoyed fish but said people found worms in it. He said the food at the Tokyo and Rio Games was “incredible.”

The athlete felt the Paris Games didn’t have enough protein options and had long lines where they waited 30 minutes for food due to no system being put in place. Ceccon wasn’t the only Italian swimmer who complained about the village’s conditions.

Gregorio Paltrinieri said he wasn’t sleeping due to no air conditioning. He described the village as the “worst I have ever experienced,” adding how “athletes are not safeguarded.” A day before the coverage of the village’s issues, Denmark’s Nanna Vigild shared an Instagram video.

In the clip, she walked around the accommodation and gave a different take. She noted how everyone there, including other athletes, the staff, and volunteers, is “so nice.” Vigild also shared how everything, like iced coffee and food, is free.

She said the village is clean, and people like the US’ gold-winning Simone Biles walked around casually, and it felt “unreal.” The athlete described it as the “most wonderful place ever.” Speaking of athletes who are displeased with the village, Coco Gauff is one of them.

US Tennis Player Chooses to Stay at the Olympic Village

The US’ Coco Gauff shared, in a TikTok video that quickly went viral, how the logistics weren’t great at the Olympic Village. She mentioned how there are two bathrooms to accommodate ten athletes. The clip showed how the brand-new $1.6 billion Olympic Village had less-than-ideal living conditions.

While the rest of her teammates left the village, the tennis player stayed put. Gauff revealed that she initially intended to move with the others, then she kept meeting “all these amazing athletes” who are staying in the village.

Seeing how the Spanish tennis player and legend, Rafael Nadal, was able to stay put, she figured she could do it too. But Gauff said she understood why her teammates left. In her footage, the tennis player’s US teammates tried doing their hair, makeup, and outfits in the cramped space.

She captioned the post, “10 girls, two bathrooms #olympicvillage.” Gauff now has a room to herself, and there are five women with her, whom she described as “very chill.” The athlete was also lucky enough to get a mattress topper lent to her by the archery team. Viewers gave mixed reactions to the athletes’ village issues.

Readers and Viewers Share Their Views on the Olympic Village Matter

Some Olympic fans sympathized with the athletes and understood their need for comfort and proper facilities to enable them to give their all. One person wrote, “The athletes need good facilities, especially a good mattress, in order to be in tip-top condition to perform at their best.”

But some people criticized the athletes, with one person writing, “Holy entitlement!!! Seriously, that’s what they’re complaining about.” The viewer revealed, “While in the military, I shared two bathrooms with 35 other guys and we all managed just fine.”

Someone who also criticized the athletes stated, “Everyone is given the same and treated equally, but obviously some of them feel they are entitled to special treatment.” Showing support for Gauff, they added, “Good for Coco Gauff for sticking it out in her accommodation, and I hope she enjoys the camaraderie and Olympic experience.”

Sharing a slightly different view, a reader wrote, “All athletes should be mandated to stay in the village!” They asked, “How is it fair that professional millionaire US basketball and tennis players, etc., can stay in 5-star hotels while either true amateurs or low-paid athletes stay at the village?”

Someone else revealed what they heard, stating, “I expected the accommodations to not be great! I also read the food in the village isn’t very nice, and a lot of the athletes are hungry!” Another person criticized the organizers for the differing experiences that amateur and professional athletes went through.

The person complained, “The Olympics were so much better when it was all amateur competition.” Someone else noted, “Some of these athletes are clearly spoilt and feel entitled rather than accept graciously the hospitality provided.”

They continued, “It is not just about the size of your room or bathrooms; it’s about being part of the Olympic team.” Adding the financial aspect to the mix, a reader said, “What is more shocking is that these are professional tennis players earning hundreds of thousands of pounds or dollars. It should not be included as an Olympic sport.”

A disgruntled person shared, “I lost interest in the Olympics when they let professional paid athletes compete. Now it’s even worse – it has become a woke commercial. No thanks.”

Feeling resources weren’t allocated properly, someone stated, “The organizers must have spent a fortune for the Opening Ceremony on global celebrities visiting, including the superstar singers performing.”

Another person added, “The real stars should have been the sportspeople who came here to compete, but unfortunately, they are treated just as peasants and even given cardboard boxes disguised as beds to sleep.” They concluded, “Nothing new under the French sun, I suppose!”