Thomas Ceccon's putting his bed where his mouth is ... lying on a blanket and catching a few winks after publicly slamming the Olympic Village.
The Italian swimmer was filmed taking a nap outside in a post from Saudi Arabian rower Husein Alireza ... fully stretched underneath a park bench, backpack down as a pillow.
Alireza wrote, "Rest today, conquer tomorrow," on the post ... and, it's getting a ton of circulation online -- mainly 'cause the dude publicly trashed conditions in the village.
Ceccon took home medals in his first two races -- winning gold in the men's 100m backstroke and bronze in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay -- but, he failed to qualify for the final in the men's 200m backstroke.
After his brutal defeat, Ceccon vented his frustration to the press ... claiming there's no air conditioning, the food's inadequate, etc. -- all complaints fans of the Olympics have heard from other athletes this summer.
But, many athletes are gutting through the conditions ... while Ceccon seems to be choosing greener pastures to nap on.
BTW ... this pic was posted Saturday -- and, Ceccon ended up missing out on the final in another relay event with the Italian team on the same day, so not sure how much the nap really helped.
Bottom line ... Olympians should feel free to sleep in the streets -- but it won't necessarily help them medal in their meets!