Netizens, viewers, and readers have all shared their mixed views over Olympic athletes complaining about the Olympic Village. One athlete appeared to take the matter far by opting to nap outside. Complaints over food, comfort, and more were lodged against the Paris Games.
Sleeping Outside
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 on a blanket next to a park bench 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.”
Thomas Ceccon sleeping outside the Paris Olympic Games Village in a post uploaded on August 5, 2024 | Source: YouTube/yahooau
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.
What We Know 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.
Thomas Ceccon bites his Bronze medal after competing in Men’s 100m Backstroke Final in the Youth Olympic Park on October 8, 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina | Source: Getty Images
In 2021, Ceccon took part in his first official Olympic Games at the 2020 Tokyo Games. He was instrumental in Italy winning a silver in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay. The athlete also took home a bronze medal in the men’s 4x100m medley relay.
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.
Thomas Ceccon shows his gold medal after compete in the 100m Individual Medley Men’s Final during the FINA Swimming Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, on December 16, 2022 | Source: Getty Images
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.
