Now the national team, with 26 active swimmers, is forced to stay separately in two different hotels.
"It's the first time we as a squad have stayed in different hotels. I've never experienced that before, but it was the only solution. All three hotels we could choose from are within 400 metres," says Martina Aronsson.
The originally booked hotel turned out to lack air conditioning and did not have sufficient space for the large Swedish squad.
Priority comfort
The temperature in Paris next week is forecast to fluctuate between 30 and 36 degrees.
"26 swimmers with their coaches have done everything to get here, so it shouldn't be a case of us not being able to sleep at night or not having space to eat breakfast. We chose to put in more (financial) funds to prioritise the swimmers' comfort," says the national captain.
She is critical of the organiser providing such a poor hotel.
"Yes, my God. Last weekend I received indications that the standard was far too low, which is regrettable," says Aronsson.
Tarnished reputation
All national teams are staying in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, where the swimming arena is also located, which has had a tarnished reputation for many years and where there are warnings not to stay after dark.
Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the Olympic Village was built in Saint-Denis to change the area. It's a pretty rough area, but that has changed too. It's better than two years ago. But we have informed everyone in the squad that you don't go out alone when it's late and dark, says Martina Aronsson.
The European Swimming Championships start on Monday and continue all week.
