Although the Olympic Village in Paris has faced some criticism, certain amenities have proven to be a great perk, especially for American Olympian Ariana Ramsey.
The rugby player, who won a bronze medal for women’s rugby sevens on Tuesday, July 30, discovered that free healthcare was available to all athletes during their stay at the Olympic Village and documented the experience with her fans on TikTok.
“Not only in the Village do we have free food, but we have free dental, free healthcare,” the 24-year-old revealed, adding in the caption, “I quite literally love it here. The way the Olympic Village has free healthcare.”
While this might not be as revolutionary for other countries, for Americans—where medical care often comes with extreme costs and debt—the availability of free healthcare, even for a short period, is a significant premium. It’s enough to motivate even the best athletes to fit in a year’s worth of medical appointments.
Ramsey shared that she received a free pap smear, a dentist appointment, and an eye exam.
“Like, what?!” an astonished Ramsey told her followers.
@ariana.ramsey
In another TikTok video, Ramsey revealed she got a free new pair of glasses following her eye exam. “I have 20/20 vision, but they gave me glasses because I told her my vision gets blurry sometimes. So now I have glasses,” she said while showing off her new frames.
Ramsey also mentioned that her videos showcasing the free healthcare were picked up by media in France, gaining her some recognition among healthcare workers.
“So when I was going into my eye doctor’s appointment—my free eye doctor’s appointment in the Olympic Village—my eye doctor recognized me. She was like, ‘Your video’s going viral.’ And then when I left, there were all these workers coming up to me, saying, ‘Thank you for your video.’ … France, you did your big one with free healthcare, or every other country minus America, did their big one with free healthcare.”
@ariana.ramsey Like yes, I’m fully aware that that should be a standard but it’s not in America due to the systems that are already put in place.
Ramsey has since updated her TikTok bio to describe herself as a “Universal Free Healthcare Advocate” and declared that her “new fight for action” is “Free healthcare in America. Period.”
“Anyways, America needs to do better with its healthcare system. There’s no reason why me, an American girl, should be so amazed by free healthcare.”
According to Olympics.com, the Olympic Village accommodates 14,250 athletes during the Olympic Games and 8,000 during the Paralympic Games.
“According to the Paris 2024 organizing committee, the Village also offers cardiology, orthopedics, physiotherapy, psychology, podiatry, and, of course, sports medicine—all at no cost to the athletes,” Sports Illustrated reported, adding that Paralympians will also have access to dermatologists once they move into the space next week.
The outlet also reported that the Olympic Village has offered athletes and their delegations free healthcare since the 1932 Los Angeles Games, although many are unaware of these facilities. The Olympic polyclinic can handle as many as 700 patient visits per day.