An Olympic gold medallist has been seen sleeping in a slightly unconventional location after the bed that they were given was seemingly not good enough.
Now, we've heard a lot about BedGate 2024 after it was revealed that athletes would be sleeping on the same “rock-solid” beds that were given to them at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The cardboard beds first went viral back in that same year after American track and field runner Paul Chelimo posted about them on X (formerly Twitter), claiming that the beds were "aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes."
"Beds will be able to withstand the weight of a single person to avoid situations beyond sports," Chelimo wrote at the time. "At this point, I will have to start practicing how to sleep on the floor."
In a new image posted to X by RadioGenoa, a replica of the 2024 Paris beds showed a plain “sustainable” bed made from cardboard, prompting people to speak out against them.
“My thoughts are wth?” wrote one user while another added: “I've heard of bed in a box, but not bed AS a box. Coffins made of wood are better than that thing!”
A third also commented on how athletes are supposed to perform at their best if they’re sleeping on “cardboard boxes.”
Well, it seems as though some have resorted to finding other more comfortable places to sleep.
Cue Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon, who was recently seen sleeping in a park inside the Olympic Village.
On Saturday, a video of the Olympic gold medalist was posted to Instagram by Saudi rower Husein Alireza alongside the caption: “Rest today, conquer tomorrow.”
It comes shortly after Ceccon complained about the sleeping conditions in Paris.
“There is no air conditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad,” Ceccon said, per The Sun. “Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or an excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everybody knows.”
The swimmer previously won a gold medal for the Men’s 100m Backstroke but failed to reach the 200-metre backstroke final last Wednesday.
Speaking of his loss, he said: “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. Here, I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”
And he’s not the only one.
Last week, Australian water polo player Tilly Kearns took to both Instagram and TikTok to show what her team manager did to make their beds a lot more comfortable to sleep on.
"We do have an update with the rock-hard cardboard beds," Kearns could be heard saying in the clip, before revealing a thick mattress topper.
"Everyone was suggesting [to get a mattress topper]... and our team manager was one step ahead and we all have [one]," she continued. "I'm so grateful because I was waking up every single hour. I actually thought about going on the floor."
And just to add that cherry on top of the Olympic bed, their manager also got them extra pillows.
"We expect gold-medal performances from here on out," Kearns added.
Just a week left and the athletes will be back in their comfier beds at home.