Great Britain's Adam Peaty Says Olympians Have Found Worms in Food at Paris Games

Team Great Britain swimmer Adam Peaty says that Olympians have found worms in their food during the 2024 Paris Games.

Peaty, who last week tied with Team USA's Nic Fink for the silver in the 100-meter breaststroke, told James Gray of Britain's iNews that food quality has been impacted by organizers' promises to increase sustainability by serving more plant-based meals.

"The narrative of sustainability has just been punished on the athletes. I want meat, I need meat to perform and that's what I eat at home, so why should I change?" Peaty asked Gray. "I like my fish and people are finding worms in the fish. It's just not good enough.

"The standard, we're looking at the best of the best in the world, and we're feeding them not the best."

Both an Olympics spokesperson and representative of Team Great Britain said they had not been able to confirm Peaty's allegation regarding worms in the food, Gray reported.

Peaty, the 100m breaststroke world record holder, holds six gold medals including three golds and three silvers after competing at Rio 2016 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that took place in 2021.

He told Gray that athletes received better food during both of his previous Olympic experiences.

"The catering isn't good enough for the level the athletes are expected to perform. We need to give the best we possibly can," Peaty told Gray. "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."

The food criticism comes amid what Peaty has described as "probably the worst week of my life" physically after he sat out of the mixed 4x100m medley relay following a positive COVID test.

He is not the only Olympic athlete to reportedly express dissatisfaction with the food at the Athletes' Village, which the International Olympic Committee reported before the Games would be comprised of 60 percent meat-free options.

Some athletes have criticized the food on social media, while British Olympic Association CEO Andy Anson said the food in the Athletes' Village was "not adequate," according to a July 25 report by Martyn Ziegler and Elizabeth Ammon of the Times in London.

"There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates, and then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes," Anson said.

Organizers of the 2024 Paris Games announced four days after Anson's comments that they would make adjustments to the athletes' menu, including adding more meat and eggs, Julien Pretot reported for Reuters.