Olympic swimming gold medallist Thomas Ceccon sleeps in a PARK after complaining about ‘subpar’ standards at the athletes village in Paris

Gold medallist Thomas Ceccon was spotted taking a nap in a Paris park after complaining about conditions in the Olympic Village in Paris.

Italian swimmer Ceccon won gold in the men’s 100m backstroke this week, despite saying he finds it “difficult to sleep both at night and in the afternoon” in the athletes’ accommodation, which has not really impressed this year.

“There is no air conditioning in the village, it is hot, the food is bad,” he said. “A lot of athletes move for this reason: it is not an alibi or an excuse, it is the reality of what perhaps not everyone knows.

‘I normally always sleep at home in the afternoon: here I really struggle with the heat and the noise.’

Now, a photo has gone viral on social media showing Ceccon – who went viral for his good looks during a medal ceremony – taking extreme measures to get some rest.

Saudi rower Husein Alireza spotted Ceccon sleeping on a towel in a park and posted a snapshot of the bizarre image on Instagram, tagging the Olympic Village grounds as the location where the Italian was taking a nap.

It is not yet clear whether the photo was taken before or after Ceccon and Italy were eliminated from the heats of the men’s 4x100m medley.

The 23-year-old is joined by Coco Gauff, Ariarne Titmus and Assia Touati who complain about the accommodation provided by the organisers in Paris.

Ceccon has complained about the appalling conditions faced by athletes in Paris

After defending her Olympic gold medal in the 400m freestyle, Australian swimmer Titmus felt she could have broken the world record if she had stayed in better accommodation.

“It probably wasn’t the time I thought I could do, but living in the Olympic Village makes it difficult to perform,” she admitted in a post-race interview.

‘It’s certainly not meant for top performances, it’s about who can really keep it together in their mind.’

The beds in the Olympic Village have been the subject of controversy due to their lack of comfort and their ‘woke character’.

The single beds, produced by Airwave, feature cardboard frames as part of the organisers’ sustainability efforts.

The ‘anti-sex’ cardboard beds went down a treat with Australian water polo player Tilly Kearns and her teammate Gabi Palm, who said after their first night: ‘My back is about to come off’.

Tennis star Daria Saville also revealed in a social media post on Tuesday that the village is not at all like staying in a hotel.

Athletes were given cardboard beds during their two-week stay in France

“Here in the Olympic Village we don’t really have hotel-like cleaning, so you have to provide your own toilet paper,” she wrote in the caption of a video showing her grabbing multiple rolls.

This comes after former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen criticised the Olympics, claiming that its environmentally-friendly policies are ruining athletes’ chances of setting world records.

Magnussen won gold, silver and bronze at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

He also became world champion in the 100-meter freestyle in 2011 and 2013. In 2019, Magnussen retired from competitive swimming.

He believes the world’s biggest sporting event has an environmentally-friendly, vegan mentality that is hurting performance.

“There are several factors that make life in the countryside far from ideal,” the two-time Olympian wrote in his Column by News Corp.

Italian star Ceccon won gold in the backstroke despite living in the athletes’ village

‘It’s the cardboard beds that don’t provide an optimal night’s sleep.’

“It’s the lack of air conditioning, which is going to be a bigger factor as the week goes on. Yesterday it was 20 degrees and raining. It’s going to be mid 30s in the next few days.

‘That will play a part and it will be a welcome change that the Australian team have their own mobile air conditioners.

Magnussen believes they have gone too far and that the environment created for the athletes could be the most difficult environment ever to swim world records.

“The lack of world records comes from the whole eco-friendly, carbon footprint, vegan-first mentality rather than peak performance,” he said.