While LeBron James, Simone Biles and Sha'carri Richardson will all be sleeping on cardboard beds in the Paris Olympic village, some of Team USA have a very different living situation – a 126-meter cruise ship with real beds, two lounges and four bars.
The surfing competition is not taking place in the landlocked city of Paris, for obvious reasons, and so the French committee picked the territory of Tahiti, known for its gnarly waves, to host the sport this year.
© Aranui 5But with limited accommodation options in the villages, surfers such as Carissa Moore, Caroline Marks, and John John Florence will be staying on the luxury cruise ship, floating out in the pacific ocean.
© Aranui 5The Aranui 5 – fondly nicknamed the Floating Village – has 103 cabins with real queen-sized beds, a restaurant, four bars, two lounges, a swimming pool, massage room and fitness center.
© Aranui 5It is anchored in the lagoon about 10 km (6.2 miles) from the venue of Teahupo'o, and the surfers will take a ferry each day from the ship to the competition point.
© Aranui 5The ship can accommodate "230 passengers and charges around $5,700 per person for a 12-day, 11-night cruise in a standard cabin to the Marquesas Islands, taking cargo along with paying passengers". The presidential suite costs $10,000 a night.
There are 28 athletes from 19 delegations on board, as well as support staff; it is thought the 28 athletes have all been given suites which have balconies.
© Aranui 5In the lounges there are amenities including foosball and ping pong tables
© Aranui 5The restaurant is open 24 hours.
© Aranui 5The surfers have also taken to social media to share an inside look at the boats, and New Zealand star Billy Stairmund said that "it's awesome to wake up here and kind of check the coastline every morning and feel refreshed and energized".
"Obviously it would have been cool to get some spectators," he added, speaking to Reuters.
"But at the same time we're here for a job you know, we're here to get medals and at times it probably could be distracting. We're in our little bubble and we're doing everything we can to get those medals."
