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Home / Sport / Olympics

Olympics: Concerns raised that eco-friendly Olympic beds won't withstand athletes' sex lives

NZ Herald
10 Jan, 2020 07:10 PM3 mins to read

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An example of one the beds to be used in the Athletes Village. Photo/ Twitter

An example of one the beds to be used in the Athletes Village. Photo/ Twitter

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Japan has unveiled modern, eco-friendly cardboard beds for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but at least one Olympian has raised concerns they'll put a damper on athletes' sex lives.

In an effort to reduce the games' environmental impact, bed frames in the Athletes Village will be made of sturdy cardboard.

"Those beds can stand up to 200 kilograms," Takashi Kitajima, the general manager of the 2020 Athletes Village, told AFP.

"They are stronger than wooden beds."

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At 2.10 metres long, the single-sized beds should be suitable for all but the very tallest athletes.

However, Australian basketball player Andrew Bogut raised an alarm on Twitter, questioning whether the cardboard could withstand two muscular athletes.

"Great gesture … until the athletes finish their said events and the 1000s of condoms handed out all over the village are put to use," Bogut tweeted.

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Bed manufacturers Airweave promised the beds have been through rigorous stress tests.

"We've conducted experiments, like dropping weights on top of the beds," a spokesperson told AFP.

"As long as they stick to just two people in the bed, they should be strong enough to support the load."

Kitajima also pointed out that even wooden beds would break under the weight and activity of two very heavy athletes.

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At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, where usage of dating app Tinder soared almost 350 per cent, organisers doled out 110,000 condoms to participants.

London organisers supplied 150,000 condoms to 2012 Olympic athletes at what was dubbed the raunchiest Games in history, until Rio four years later, where athletes received 450,000, equivalent to 42 condoms each.

In the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, 10,000 condoms were provided for the 10,500 athletes living in the village, with each one featuring the motto: 'Faster, Higher, Stronger'.

In 2016, Rio handed out a record-breaking 450,000 condoms alongside condom dispensers that featured the motto "celebrate with a condom".

Former Australian Olympic long jumper David Culbert admitted competitors took part in plenty of sexual activity at the Games, but stories are overplayed in the media.

"I think it's a bit of a myth. I'm sure it exists," Culbert told foxsports.com.au in 2016.

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"I'm sure there's the Fabio who runs around and more interested in notches on the belt than how they're going in the Games but for most of these people it's the ultimate moment of their sporting career.

"You were slightly envious of a diver or someone on the opening morning; they're done by lunchtime day one.

"Therefore you've got 16 days of Club Med on steroids … It's a ramped-up, hyped-up Club Med if you no longer have to compete."

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