MADRID, Spain.- Renowned British swimmer Adam Peaty publicly denounced the poor quality of the food served to athletes at the Olympic Games in ParisPeaty, a six-time Olympic medalist, expressed concern about the food conditions, saying maggots were found in fish served at the Olympic Village.
Speaking to INews, Peaty He stressed that the food offered is not up to the level of performance expected of Olympic athletes. “The catering is not good enough for the level expected of athletes, worms have been found in the fish. The food is not up to the level of performance that athletes are expected to give at the Olympic Games,” he said.
He also criticised the lack of adequate protein options and long queues of up to 30 minutes due to poor organisation of the catering service.
Philipp Würz, head of food and beverage for the Paris 2024 committee, had announced during the presentation of the Games menu that 60% of the recipes would be vegetarian and a third of plant-based origin.
The organisation’s intention was to make these the most sustainable Olympics in history. However, the shortage of meat, according to Peaty, has been detrimental to the diet of some athletes. “The idea of sustainability has been imposed on athletes, something I don’t agree with. I want meat, I need meat to perform and that’s what I eat at home, so why would I change?” said Adam Peaty.
Peaty also compared the quality of food in Paris to previous Olympics such as Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, where he said the food was “amazing.”
In response to these and other criticisms, Olympic organisers and catering partner Sodexo Live! said they are taking athletes’ feedback seriously and have increased the quantity of certain products to meet demand. A Paris 2024 spokesperson said more staff have been deployed and supplies have been adapted to improve service.
Amid the food controversy, training for the marathon swim was suspended due to concerns about the water quality of the Seine. Belgian triathlete Claire Michel contracted an E.coli infection after competing in the women’s event last week, although Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said the infection had not been confirmed to have come from the river.
Water tests revealed high levels of enterococci, indicators of fecal contamination, so familiarization sessions for the women’s 10-kilometer marathon on Thursday and the men’s race on Friday were canceled.
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