The 2024 Paris Olympics have become synonymous with many things like the viral and highly sought-after Chocolate Muffin, the persistent efforts to clean the Seine River, a long awaited performance from Celine Dion and so much more. However, the most shocking development emerging from Paris has been the numerous complaints from Olympic athletes regarding the Olympic Village. These complaints range from excruciatingly uncomfortable beds, inadequate food and scorching room temperatures, heavily altering the athletes’ ability to perform well and lead their countries to victory and invalidating the extreme amounts of time, money and effort athletes around the world put in to be able to participate in the Olympics.
“I think Paris, in some aspects, didn’t seem like they started planning or preparing early enough and while I admire their goals in wanting to be sustainable, sustainability shouldn’t take away from the athlete’s comfort,” junior Linus Boettcher said.
News of the uncomfortable beds grew rampant months before the 2024 Olympic’s opening however, it is not the first time these beds have been in use. The beds were first introduced at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, made by Japanese company Airweave with sustainability in mind. The 16,000 beds were made with food-grade plastic, cardboard boxes and three mattress pads, rendering them quite uncomfortable. Yet, the beds became the center of public attention when rumors started that they were “anti-sex” beds and would collapse at the weight of more than one athlete. However, these claims were soon proven wrong when athletes themselves started testing the bed’s weight capacity. Despite this, it was clear the beds were uncomfortable.
Some athletes took to social media to complain about the discomfort while others made the intelligent choice of purchasing mattress pads in order to facilitate their relaxation and ultimately, earn more medals. And while it is noble that the Paris Olympics prioritized sustainability when creating the games, it is unjust for it to be at the athletes’ and therefore, the countries’ expense.
Social media has made it possible for participating athletes to display and comment on the happenings within the isolated and unknown daily life in the Olympic Village. One thing that has particularly struck the interest of many viewers has been the food. Athletes and viewers alike have commented that the food both looks and tastes revolting. In addition, participants have claimed a big shortage in protein items like eggs and red meat, both of which are vital to athletes especially when exerting large amounts of energy when competing. However, unlike the other complaints, this problem was not an issue of putting sustainability first but, one of poor planning. This is yet another instance of the Olympic officials putting the comfort and well-being of Olympic athletes on the back burner, rescinding all the hard work they put in to participate at the Olympics.
“As an athlete, I spend a lot of my time making sure that I can play my best on the court. I need to make sure I have enough energy, and I have enough resources to get me to how I need to play on that important day. I think it’s important, at least for me to have all the equipment, the resources, the air conditioning and a comfortable bed so I can sleep well and be energized for my big day,” sophomore Carolina Sesin said.
Alongside all these issues, the Olympics took place during the hottest month of the year. Despite this, sustainability took precedent once again when it was announced that there would be no air conditioning in the Olympic Village, leaving athletes unbearably hot. Instead of air conditioning, water pipes were implemented under floors in order to keep cool, however, this proved inadequate facing the strong summer heat. While, prioritizing sustainability is extremely important in an age where climate change is not ameliorating, it should not be done at the expense of the athletes.
“I think environmental sustainability is a very important thing to implement, especially when you’re hosting such a big event where they use tons of fireworks and where tons of people have to fly to get there, damaging the environment. Yet, I also understand where the athletes are coming from. I want a comfy bed right before I’m going to go break a world record,” senior Nathalie Swartz said.
Athletes have dedicated countless hours, large sums of money and put their physical and mental health on the line just to do the honor of representing their country. It is possible to prioritize sustainability while maintaining the athletes comfort yet, the organizers of the Paris Olympics missed that opportunity. Maybe instead of spending the hard-earned money of the French people on cleaning the highly polluted Seine River, the Olympic Village could have put the 1.4 billion euros to maintain the athletes comfort while maintaining sustainability. Yet, the organizers decided to prioritize the cleaning of the River, a river that is still unsafe to swim in.
“As an athlete, I think it is important for other athletes, especially Olympic ones to live in good and comfortable conditions while being fed well. Although sustainability is important, it is equally as important for athletes to take good care of themselves especially with all the hard work they put to make it there,” junior Orly Schoolman-Wood said.
To conclude, as Olympic organizers decided to prioritize sustainability over the athletes comfort, athletes were not able to perform to the best of their abilities. Instead they took to social media and spread awareness about the obstacles they were facing. What could have been solved with a reassessment of budget, implementing the money they used to the Seine to the comfort and well-being of athletes, many athletes would have been able to set new records, win more medals and ultimately represent all of us on the podium.
