The cardboard beds that went viral at the 2020 Olympics were not put to rest at this summer’s games in Paris, much to the chagrin of some competitors.
Athletes again arrived at the Olympic Village to find beds literally made out of cardboard, which organizers insist is an attempt at environmental sustainability rather than sex prevention as some have suggested.
“These beds are hard as a rock,” Daniel Smith, Team USA’s Olympic Village director, told People magazine, but he noted the accompanying mattresses can be customized to the desired level of firmness.
“We’re getting mattress toppers today,” US Gymnastics coach Cécile Landi told Sports Illustrated recently. “Hallelujah!”
The cardboard contraptions commanded considerable attention at the previous Olympics in Tokyo, where U.S. track and field runner Paul Chelimo claimed the beds were “aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes.”
“Beds will be able to withstand the weight of a single person to avoid situations beyond sports,” he wrote on social media at the time.
This year, Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan tested that theory by jumping, diving and rolling on his bed with his full body weight, only to find the structure held up against maximum force.
“Paris Olympics “Anti-sex beds” debunked,” McClenaghan wrote on Instagram.
Smith, meanwhile, told People that some 600,000 condoms had been distributed to Olympic Village, with the COVID-inspired “sex ban” that made headlines at the Tokyo Games no longer in place.
The beds are part of a well-intentioned — albeit ambitious — attempt by Paris organizers to keep these Olympics as green as possible.
Many were skeptical of Paris’ plan to forgo traditional air conditioning and use more eco-friendly technology instead. The U.S. was among the countries that supplied its own AC units in response.
“In our conversations with athletes this was a very high priority and something that the athletes felt was a critical component in their performance capability, and the predictability and consistency of what they’re accustomed to,” Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said last month, according to CBS News.
The opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics is set to take place Friday, with LeBron James and Coco Gauff serving as Team USA’s honorary flagbearers.
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