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Gold medal winner found sleeping in park after complaining about 'bad' Olympic village conditions

Gold medal winner found sleeping in park after complaining about 'bad' Olympic village conditions

Gold medalist Thomas Ceccon called his Olympic Village living conditions 'subpar'

The Olympic Village is taking some serious heat after a gold medalist was found sleeping beside a park bench.

You would believe that living in quarters specifically designed to host the best of the best Olympians in the world would be something all of the athletes would be excited about.

But not one of them.

Instead, gold medalist Thomas Ceccon has had some harsh words about the conditions he was living in at the village.

Ceccon complained about his environment, even though he went on to pick up two medals this week.

Calling it ‘subpar’, the Italian swimmer must have decided that sleeping outdoors was far better conditions than a place with a cardboard bed and had a quick kip on the ground.

In a picture taken of him, you can see a white towel spread out on the grass under a tree and next to a bench with the swimmer curled up asleep.

It was a Saudi rower called Husein Alireza who caught Ceccom napping and posted it on his Instagram account, tagging the location as the Olympic Village grounds.

Thomas Ceccon won gold and then took a nap outside. (Instagram/ceccon_thomas)
Thomas Ceccon won gold and then took a nap outside. (Instagram/ceccon_thomas)

The 23-year-old has been vocal about his accommodations since his loss during the 200m backstroke final on Wednesday July 31.

He said to reporters: "There is no air conditioning in the village, it's hot, the food is bad.

"Many athletes move for this reason: it's not an alibi or excuse, it's the reality of what perhaps not everyone knows.

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"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.

"Usually, when I'm at home, I always sleep in the afternoon: here I really struggle between the heat and the noise."

The Italian swimming federation FIN has even been forced to clarify that the video of Ceccon asleep is unrelated to his earlier comments about the Olympic Village.

The swimmer was spotted napping beside a bench. (Instagram/huseinalireza)
The swimmer was spotted napping beside a bench. (Instagram/huseinalireza)

They told news agency ANSA 'it was just a nap', also highlighting that the clip was filmed in the daytime.

However, Ceccon is not the only athlete to slate the conditions at the Olympic Village.

Team USA Coco Gauff shared that one of her female tennis teammates quit the village after finding the quarters were ‘too cramped.’

French swimmer Assia Touati recently said: "We had no AC in the bedroom but they installed it anyway because it was getting too hot."

Australian water polo player Matilda Kearns also came out to say that she ‘already had a massage to undo the damage’ from sleeping on the mattress at the Olympic Village.

So, maybe the grassy park isn’t such a bad option after all?

UNILAD reached out to the talent management team of Thomas Ceccon.

Team USA's current medal count - 79

Gold medalists

  • Lee Kiefer: Fencing - Women's individual foil
  • Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 100m butterfly
  • Jack Alexj, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong, Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held, Matt King: Swimming - Men's 4x100m freestyle
  • Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's team competition
  • Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 1500m freestyle
  • Nick Mead, Justin Best, Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan: Rowing - Men's coxless four
  • Jacqueline Dubrovich, Lee Kiefer, Lauren Scruggs, Maia Mei Weintraub - Fencing: Women's foil team
  • Simone Biles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's individual all-around
  • Kate Douglass: Swimming - Women's 200m breaststroke
  • Simone Biles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's vault
  • Vincent Hancock: Shooting - Men's skeet
  • Ryan Crouser: Athletics - Men's shot put
  • Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 800m freestyle
  • Nic Fink, Torri Huske, Ryan Murphy, Gretchen Walsh: Swimming - Mixed 4x100m medley relay
  • Bobby Finke: Swimming - Men's 1500m freestyle
  • Kristen Faulkner: Cycling - Women's road race
  • Scottie Scheffler: Golf - Men's individual stroke play
  • Noah Lyles: Athletics - Men's 100m
  • Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 4x100m medley relay
  • Valarie Allman: Athletics - Women's discus throw
  • Caroline Marks: Surfing - Women's Shortboard

Silver medalists

  • Nic Fink: Swimming - Men's 100m breaststroke
  • Lauren Scruggs: Fencing - Women's individual foil
  • Gretchen Walsh: Swimming - Women's 100m butterfly
  • Haley Batten: Mountain Bike - Women's cross country
  • Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh. Torri Huske, Simone Manuel, Erika Connolly, Abbey Weitzel: Swimming - Women's 4x100m freestyle
  • Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook: Diving - Women's springboard 3m synchronised
  • Katie Grimes: Swimming - Women's 400m individual medley
  • Jagger Eaton: Skateboarding - Men's street
  • Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 100m backstroke
  • Bobby Finke: Swimming - Men's 800m freestyle
  • Carson Foster, Brooks Curry, Chris Guiliano, Luke Hobson, Drew Kibler, Blake Pieroni, Kieran Smith: Swimming - Men, 4x200m freestyle
  • Perris Benegas: Cycling - Women's BMX freestyle
  • Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 100m freestyle
  • Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 200m butterfly
  • Erin Gemell, Katie Ledecky, Paige Madden, Simone Manuel, Anna Peplowski, Alex Shackell, Claire Weinstein: Swimming - Women's 4x200m freestyle
  • Karl Cook, Laura Kraut, McLain Ward: Equestrian - Jumping team
  • Sagen Maddalena: Shooting - Women, 50m rifle 3 positions
  • Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 200m backstroke
  • Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram: Tennis - Men's doubles
  • Conner Prince: Shooting - Men's skeet
  • Joe Kovacs: Athletics - Men's shot put
  • Kaylyn Brown, Bryce Deadmon, Shamier Little, Vernon Norwood: Athletics - 4x400m relay mixed
  • Sha'Carri Richardson: Athletics - Women's 100m
  • Kate Douglass: Swimming - Women's 200m individual medley
  • Brady Ellison: Archery: Men's individual
  • Hunter Armstrong, Caeleb Dressel, Nic Fink, Ryan Murphy: Swimming - Men's 4x100m medley relay
  • Seth Rider, Taylor Spivey, Morgan Pearson and Taylor Knibb: Triathlon - Mixed relay
  • Simone Biles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's floor exercise
  • Sam Kendricks: Athletics - Men's pole vault
  • Vincent Hancock and Jewell Austen Smith: Shooting - Mixed team skeet

Bronze medalists

  • Carson Foster: Swimming - Men's 400m individual medley
  • Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 400m freestyle
  • Chloe Dygert: Cycling - Women's individual time trial
  • Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, Paul Juda, Asher Hong: Artistic Gymnastics - Men's team competition
  • Nick Itkin: Fencing - Men's foil individual
  • Emma Weyant: Swimming - Women's 400m individual medley
  • Ryan Murphy: Swimming - Men's 100m backstroke
  • Luke Hobson: Swimming - Men's 200m freestyle
  • Nyjah Huston: Skateboarding - Men's street
  • Ilona Maher, Kayla Canett, Lauren Doyle, Alev Kelter, Kristi Kirshe, Sarah Levy, Alena Olsen, Ariana Ramsey, Steph Rovetti, Alex Sedrick, Sammy Sullivan, Naya Tapper: Rugby 7s - Women's team competition
  • Katharine Berkoff: Swimming - Women's 100m backstroke
  • Evy Leibfarth: Canoe slalom - Women's Canoe Single
  • Suni Lee: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's individual all-around
  • Casey Kaufhold, Brady Ellison: Archery - Mixed Team
  • Grant Fisher: Athletics - Men's 10,000m
  • Ian Barrows and Hans Henken: Sailing - Men's skiff
  • Henry Hollingsworth, Nick Rusher, Christian Tabash, Clark Dean, Chris Carlson, Peter Chatain, Evan Olson, Pieter Quinton: Rowing - Men's eight
  • Stephen Nedoroscik: Gymnastics - Men's pommel horse
  • Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul: Tennis - Men's doubles
  • Jade Carey: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's vault
  • Jasmine Moore: Athletics - Women's triple jump
  • Melissa Jefferson: Athletics - Women's 100m
  • Paige Madden: Swimming - Women's 800m freestyle
  • Suni Lee: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's uneven bars
  • Austen Jewell Smith: Shooting - Women's skeet
  • Fred Kerley: Athletics - Men's 100m
  • Jordan Chiles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's floor exercise
  • Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Hailey van Lith: 3x3 basketball - Women's competition
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@huseinalireza/Getty/Xavier Laine

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