Thomas Ceccon brought great honor to his home country of Italy by winning the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the Olympics. However, he failed to even qualify for the Finals in the 200-meter and immediately blamed the poor showing on his living conditions in Paris.
It is a valid excuse to some extent, but it makes him look querulous and it could’ve been avoided all together if the Italian delegation had better prepared.
Ceccon has gone viral over the last few days for being remarkably handsome. He’s a very good looking dude and the ladies have swooned over his physique.
Although Ceccon won over the fans out of the pool, he did not perform up to expectations in the pool.
Well, that isn’t entirely true or fair. Ceccon smashed his own world record to win a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke earlier this week. It was Italy’s first-ever medal in the event.
However, he completely choked in the 200. Ceccon was considered likely to get on the podium but didn’t even make the eight-swimmer field for the Final. He flopped out during the qualification heats.
And heat was apparently part of the issue!
Ceccon blamed his poor performance on the Olympic Village. The highly-contentious living situation made him tired.
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.
— Thomas Ceccon
France put an emphasis on the environment for this year’s Olympics in Paris. The Games are supposed to be the “greenest” of all-time.
To keep with those efforts, athletes are sleeping on uncomfortable cardboard beds (which can be fully recycled) without air conditioning. Apartments were designed to keep temperatures between 72 and 79 degrees Fahrenheit through some kind of special water cooling system.
A lot, if not most, places in Europe don’t have air conditioning because it’s not normally necessary. It doesn’t get that hot in the summer. It might not be that big of an issue if these apartments weren’t housing the world’s greatest athletes during a brutal heatwave, but that’s exactly what is happening.
Some delegations told the Olympics to kick rocks over the beds and brought their own. Some countries did the same with the air conditioning and brought individual units for their athletes.
Italy apparently did not.
Thomas Ceccon felt like the lack of A/C played a huge role in his 200-meter flop. He is exhausted and he feels like the food — which has received some complaints — is also not up to his standard.
I gave up in the semi-final. I am a little tired. You have a hard time sleeping both at night and in the afternoon, between noise and heat.
Yes it’s hot for me too, in the Village there is no air conditioning, we don’t eat well and there are problems with the food. Many athletes move for these reasons.
— Thomas Ceccon
Italy could’ve solves this problem by getting its athletes what they need to be best set up for success. Ceccon also understands that his countrymen are dealing with the same conditions, as well as other athletes from other delegations. He doesn’t want to make excuses.
I emphasize that 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.
Maybe I did not go into the water with the same conviction that I had in the 100, and that was my mistake, it will serve me well in the future. I’m disappointed that I didn’t make a finals time, but I was tired too.
— Thomas Ceccon
There is only one issue with what Ceccon said about his poor performance in the 200. It’s… still an excuse. Whether he likes it or not, he is complaining that outside forces hindered his ability to succeed.
Thomas Ceccon is salty!