British Olympic athlete Tom Bosworth sparked a controversy on Monday by complaining that the food being served to athletes is not good enough in Sapparo, the city where the long distance races of the Tokyo Olympics are being held, and the place “feels like a prison.”

Bosworth, who will compete in the 50 km race walk on Friday, said on Twitter: “Any chance, in the week of our race, we could get some food?” he wrote. “Like meals? Not cold slop, steamed onions or partly cooked pasta? This is the pinnacle of sport. Sapporo feels like a prison.”

In a second tweet he added: “Welcome to the sweaty school dining hall that a lifetime of hard work gets you. Any chance you could be a little athlete focused? Any chance we could have somewhere to get some fresh air aside from the 900 m training lap we have? A cup of coffee wouldn’t go amiss.”

The Olympic marathon and race walking events have been shifted to Sapporo, 800 km north of Tokyo, as the place is cooler and would enable the athletes to escape the gruelling heat in Tokyo for the endurance races. 

While Bosworth later removed the tweets, his comments were reported in the press including The Guardian newspaper.