Ariana Ramsey won an Olympic bronze medal with the U.S. women’s rugby team here last week. A few days later, something almost as exciting happened: She got a pap smear. For free.
“Like, what?” she said in a post on TikTok describing her new discovery: The Olympic Village offers free healthcare.
The United States, of course, does not. So in the days following her victory, Ramsey made appointments with the Village gynecologist, dentist and ophthalmologist. 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. (Paralympic athletes will also have access to dermatology.)
Ramsey came to Paris as a rugby player. She is leaving as a healthcare influencer. More than 135,000 people have watched her initial TikTok, and another of the half-dozen follow-up videos she has made has pulled in more than 570 views. That is fine with her. The more she thinks about it, the more frustrated she is that she’s so astonished by the concept.
“That’s just America and their privatized healthcare system,” she laments in an interview, adding, “I’ll fight for universal healthcare.”
[…]
In fact, the Olympic Village has offered athletes and their delegations free healthcare since—ironically—the 1932 Los Angeles Games. But not many athletes know the option exists. The polyclinic is designed to handle as many as 700 patient visits per day, but Ramsey says many of the staffers there have thanked her for her videos, because she is bringing awareness to the option. She says she has gotten DMs from other athletes expressing surprise, and a few people have recognized her in person and said that her videos encouraged them to visit the clinic.
You must log in or register to comment.