There have been numerous complaints about the quality of food at the Olympic Village, and athletes have recently expressed their dissatisfaction with the poor service. These reflections have made the culinary issue here the focus of attention, causing concern for athletes throughout the competition.
Swimming star Adam Peaty, who won three Olympic gold medals in 2016 and 2020 for Great Britain, could only bring home a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Although he did not want to blame anyone, the 29-year-old athlete said that the quality of food at the Olympic Village had a significant impact on the athletes’ achievements. The combination of nutrition and performance is important, and this has led many to question the service here.
“At a tournament of the highest level, athletes expect the best,” Peaty said. “The food in Tokyo is fantastic. Rio is fantastic. But this time? We had to stand in long lines, wait 30 minutes for food because there was no queuing system, and then find out there weren’t enough protein options.”
As part of the Games’ sustainability commitment, the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee has set a target of 60% of meals served being meat-free and a third being plant-based, but Peaty said this was absurd.
“Why is this sustainability talk being brought up with athletes?” he said, “I want meat, and I need meat to compete. That’s my normal diet, why should I change? I also love fish. And here, some athletes have found worms in their fish. It’s bad.”
Since the opening, the 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee has faced a wave of criticism from athletes residing in the Olympic Village. They complained about uncomfortable beds, lack of mattresses and excessively high room temperatures without air conditioning. More notably, although the meals were advertised as being prepared by Michelin chefs, they lacked meat and did not meet quality standards.
More seriously, athlete Adam Peaty reported finding “worms in fish”, while some other athletes also encountered raw meat. All of this has created a lot of frustration in the athletes’ psychology.
At the Olympic Village, chefs are serving about 40,000 meals a day to nearly 15,000 athletes. The food court is designed with a variety of different themes, divided into six serving areas, to ensure that each athlete can find dishes that suit their preferences and culture. This not only brings culinary diversity but also creates conditions for athletes to feel close and comfortable in a stressful competition environment.
