Pau Gasol on How Olympic Experience Has ‘Improved’ Since His First Games in 2004

• Pau Gasol spoke about improving the conditions for Olympians during a press conference
• The three-time Olympic medalist was elected to the IOC’s Athletes Commission in 2021 to improve athlete experience
• Gasol addressed the additions to Olympic Village and lack of air conditioning in Paris

With 20 years of Olympic experience under his belt, three-time Olympic medalist Pau Gasol is committed to improving the Games for athletes.

A member of the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission since 2021, Gasol, 44 – who made his Olympic debut in the 2004 Athens Games — broke down some of the ways the athlete experience has changed in the last two decades.

The Spanish basketball legend first pointed to the “mental health space area” in the Olympic Village, “where athletes can go meditate and find some peace” as one of the biggest additions while speaking to reporters in Paris, including PEOPLE, on Friday, Aug. 2.

“It’s hard sometimes in common areas, but hopefully the athletes are also enjoying that and hopefully we’ll get some good feedback on how we can make it better and more useful for ’em,” Gasol said.

Technology was Gasol’s next biggest change, pointing to the Athlete 365 application that allows Olympians to engage with the commission and offer feedback. “The technological aspect of it … I didn’t have an application where I could have access to everything. I think it was introduced a little bit in Tokyo and Beijing. Now it’s just continued to grow,” he said.

The 2024 Paris Olympics saw the first opening ceremony to take place outside of a stadium as athletes floated down the Seine River on July 26, which Gasol descried as “quite unique” but a potentially disappointing experience for the Olympians considering the rain that fell throughout the evening.

“It was a great TV product,” Gasol said on Friday. “We’re trying to evaluate if it was great also for the athletes. I think it was really well, I think received from TV. But did the athletes really enjoy it being on a boat?”

When PEOPLE asked Gasol if he had heard complaints from the athletes regarding the ceremony, he said he hadn’t. “But I want to hear about it,” he added. “I would like to hear about it for the athlete, if it’s best to be in a boat, and obviously the rain was a factor for everyone that was out there.”

Perhaps the biggest complaint among the 2024 Olympians is the absence of air conditioning units installed in the village.

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According to The Times, a rower from Algeria said that although there are fans in their bedrooms, “that’s not enough,” and complained that the rooms are still “too hot at night.”

Gasol admitted that the lack of air conditioning “would also be an issue” for him as well “in order to be able to rest,” but ultimately explained that the decision not to install units in the village came down to the “politics involved” in the 2024 host city.

“There’s a culture of Paris,” Gasol said. “Paris and most European countries do not use air conditioning in their homes, and they don’t have the culture of doing that.”

“So there’s a lot of things that are involved in these types of decisions,” Gasol said. “As we were talking about balance and thinking about what could be helpful and not helpful, especially to athletes or in the Olympics, which is important, there’s just so many other things that should be taken into consideration.”

This year’s athlete housing is the first to offer athletes access to the Pampers Family Space, in partnership with Procter & Gamble, thanks to commission member Allyson Felix. The nursery provides a space for athletes — both moms and dads — to spend time with their children while staying in the Village.

“This was always obviously important to Allyson and to a lot of other women in our [commission], but she kind of took the lead on it since she joined and it’s something that other women and other athletes were requesting,” Gasol said on Friday.

“It’s a first step,” he continued. “I think everybody’s excited to have this space in the Village for moms and young families, but we want to continue to see it grow.”

The commission has “already been getting feedback from athletes and moms” of how to improve the space, said Gasol. “That’s part of our role to understand how we can make the experience and the life of athletes during the Olympics, but also after the Olympics and throughout the years, how we can provide the best possible service and cover [their needs].”

The Spanish basketball star competed in his first Olympics during the Athens Games in 2004. However, Spain didn’t medal that year. Argentina won gold, Italy won silver and the bronze medal went to the United States.

Gasol and Spain went on to win the silver medal in men’s basketball at the 2008 and 2012 Games.

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