Adam Peaty makes complaint about food at Olympic Village after fellow athlete slammed conditions
Team GB swimmer Adam Peaty has criticised the food conditions in the Olympic Village at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Olympic Village, as per tradition, houses many of the athletes that are competing in Paris.
As per the Games' organisers, the Village will accommodate over 22,000 athletes during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
After the action concludes, it will be transformed into a neighbourhood with 2,500 homes planned to be built, while the village has also fulfilled climate commitments.
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Part of those pledges include making 60 per cent of meals served - of which there are a total of 60,000 - meatless, while a third of meals will be plant-based.
That has led to concerns from athletes about sticking to their diets, but in an interview with the i newspaper, swimming star Peaty has made several criticisms about the standard of catering in the Village.
He explained: "The narrative of sustainability has just been punished on the athletes. I want to eat meat, I need meat to perform and that's what I eat at home, so why should I change?
"I like my fish, and people are finding worms in the fish. It's just not good enough.
"The standard, we're looking at the best of the best in the world, and we're feeding them not the best.
"I just want people to get better at their roles and jobs. And I think that's what the athletes are the best sounding board for."
The 29-year-old also spoke about how the catering as a whole was 'not good enough', and that queues would often result in athletes waiting 30 minutes for food.
A Paris 2024 Olympics spokesperson responded to Petty's comments, telling i: "We are listening to the athletes and take their feedback very seriously.
"Since the opening of the Village, our partner Sodexo Live! has been working proactively to adapt supplies to the growing use of the Olympic Village restaurants, as well as to the actual consumption by athletes observed over the first few days.
"As a result, the quantities of certain products have been significantly increased and additional staff have been deployed to ensure that the service runs smoothly."
SPORTbible has also contacted the IOC and Paris 2024 organisers for comment.
Peaty's comments come after Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon, who won gold in the 100m backstroke, also complained about the conditions in the village.
He said: "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 emphasise, 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."
Peaty's disrupted Games are now over, with his final race in Paris the men's 4x100m medley relay final on Sunday.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist secured a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke final, but tested positive for Covid-19 last Monday.
He was fortunately well enough to compete in the relay final, where he produced a superb breaststroke leg before Team GB finished fourth.
Ryan Smart