Olympic gold medal winner pictured sleeping in park after complaining about 'bad' athlete village conditions
An Olympic gold medallist has been spotted sleeping next to a park bench after he complained of losing sleep in the athletes' village in Paris.
Italian world record holder Thomas Ceccon secured a gold medal in the men’s 100m backstroke last week after finishing the race in 52.0 seconds flat.
The 23-year-old, who also won bronze with the 4x100m freestyle relay team, said he achieved a childhood "dream" by giving Italy their second swimming gold of the Paris Olympics.
He said: "I can't be happier. As a kid, at 15, the coach asked me: 'What is your dream?' I answered: 'To win the Olympics', and he said: 'Calm down'. It's always been my dream."
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But later on in the week, Ceccon failed to qualify for Wednesday's 200m backstroke final, despite being one of the favourites to take home gold.
The Italian cited tiredness and a lack of sleep in the Olympic Village as a reason behind his poor performance in the 200m heats.
"There is no air conditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad," Ceccon said. "Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everyone 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."
Ceccon added: "Usually, when I’m at home, I always sleep in the afternoon: here I really struggle between the heat and the noise."
Such was his struggle, the swimmer decided to try and get some kip in a local park.
In fact, Saudi Arabian rower Husein Alireza posted footage on Instagram that shows Ceccon sleeping on a white towel alongside the caption: "Rest day conquer tomorrow."
Ceccon isn't the only Olympic athlete to complain about the Olympic Village. Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus blamed conditions inside the village for her failure to secure a gold medal in Paris
"It probably wasn’t the time I thought I was capable of, but living in the Olympic Village makes it hard to perform," she said after failing to win the 200m freestyle.
‘It’s definitely not made for high performance, so it’s about who can really keep it together in the mind."
Jack Kenmare