Mixed Reactions from Athletes As ‘Anti-Sex’ Beds Return to the 2024 Paris Olympics

With the Summer Olympics in Paris underway, there are a lot of rumors on social media about the ‘anti-sex’ cardboard beds in the Olympic Village. These beds are back at the 2024 Paris Olympics after they were first introduced in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Many athletes have tested the beds comprehensively after arriving in the Olympic village but are they really anti-sex? Are the beds comfortable? Find everything about the Olympic cardboard beds explained.

These are the viral cardboard beds during the Tokyo Olympic Games that were meant to prevent athletes from getting intimate during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2024 Paris Olympic cardboard beds were made by Airwave, a Japanese company that made the beds for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

According to the Paris Olympics organizers, the so-called ‘anti-sex’ beds have come back to Paris for a different reason. They have dismissed the rumors spreading that the beds are anti-sex. The beds were designed with sustainability in mind as opposed to chastity. According to the organizing committees, their main aim was to create recyclable items, and sustainable beds were one of the ideas.

Contrary to what most people think, the cardboard beds at the 2024 Paris Olympics are not for sex prevention. The organizers insist the cardboard beds are solely for environmental sustainability. The bed frames are made of cardboard and polyethylene mattresses which are 100% recyclable. The sustainable beds will be fully recycled after the Games in France.

The cardboard beds are strong enough to withstand rigorous activity. There are multiple videos on social media where athletes are somersaulting and jumping on the cardboard beds showing they are sturdy enough. These tests show that the cardboard beds are hard as a rock and therefore declassified as ‘anti-sex’. During an event in 2023, Motokuni Takaoka, Airwave founder, said the beds could hold several people on top.

Some athletes find sleeping on the beds comfortable despite the cardboard frames. The beds are customizable to suit the sleeping preferences of different athletes. Athletes can extend the bed length or adjust the firmness.

On the other hand, other athletes find the beds too stiff, and some have decided to do some modifications. For instance, US women’s gymnasts and women’s water polo got new mattress toppers. Sweden’s women's handball players also bought Ikea mattresses because the olympic versions are too hard.

Olympic athlete sex life is another issue of public interest. The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee has ensured athletes who would like to engage in extra-curricular activities are safe. The Olympic Village has a distribution of 200,000 male condoms, 20,000 female condoms, and 10,000 oral dams to promote safe sex. Athletes love the mascot-branded condom packets available in every room. The packets have some phrases like:

• On the field of love, play fair. Ask for consent;
• Don’t share more than victory, protect yourself against STDs;
• No need to be a gold medalist to wear it!;