British swimmer Peaty unhappy with Olympic food

PARIS - British swimmer Adam Peaty has complained about the standard of food at the Olympic Village and even claims athletes have found "worms" in fish dishes.

According to Xinhua news agency, the 29-year-old, six-time Olympic medalist, who won a silver medal in the 100 meters breaststroke in Paris, said the "catering isn't good enough for the level the athletes are expected to perform"

"Tokyo, the food was incredible. Rio was incredible. But this time around? There wasn't enough protein options, long queues, waiting 30 minutes for food because there's no queuing system."

'Sustainability' has been one of the watchwords in Paris 2024, with organisers highlighting 60 per cent of meals served to athletes are meatless and 30 per cent are plant based, but the swimmer stressed that isn't what people carrying out intense training routines require.

"The narrative of sustainability has just been pushed on the athletes. I want meat.

"I need meat to perform and that's what I eat at home, so why should I change?

"We're looking at the best of the best in the world, and we're not feeding them the best," commented Peaty who added that "people are finding worms in the fish. It's just not good enough."

The swimmer, who is in his third Olympics, said he was making his comments because he wanted to see an improvement.

"I just want people to get better at their roles and jobs... These complaints are for people to get better," he insisted.

Despite his criticism of the food, Xinhua also reported that Peaty was delighted with some aspects of Paris 2024, saying: "It's definitely been the best Games in terms of fans engaged with it. So you never gonna have a perfect Games."

The British team had highlighted problems with catering before the start of competition and even brought over a chef to help team members ensure they had enough protein in their diets. - BERNAMA-XINHUA