Tokyo Olympics: Organisers distribute thousands of condoms to athletes despite sex ban

The Tokyo Olympics will be unlike any other edition of the games that has come before. Photo / AP

There's going to be a whole lot of sport at the Olympics but one that is banned in Tokyo is the time honoured tradition of horizontal bedroom gymnastics.

Yet despite sex being frowned upon in the Olympic village, organisers are set to distribute 160,000 condoms to competitors.

That's 14 condoms per competitor which, apparently, no one is expected to use.

The Tokyo Olympics will run from July 23 to August 8 after being delayed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, organisers released a raft of new guidelines designed to help prevent the spread of covid.

These rules included limiting physical contact such as kissing and hugging, singing and dancing. Sexual relations was also on the red list.

"These games in many respects will be different," Olympic Games Operations Director Pierre Ducrey said in February, reported Reuters.

"There will be a number of constraints and conditions that the participants will have to respect and follow, which will have an impact on their experience, particularly when it comes to social aspects."

However, it has now emerged that prophylactics will be part of every competitor's welcome pack upon arrival in Tokyo next month.

According to The Sun, each participant will receive around 14 condoms each, as well as a 33-page guide book on social distancing rules, urging them to "avoid physical contact, including hugs and handshakes".

The International Olympic Committee defended the move, saying: "Our intent and goal is not for athletes to use the condoms at the Olympic village but to help with awareness by taking them back to their own countries."

However, it's likely it's also a common sense move as the organisers realise that as much as they may try and encourage abstinence between competitors, humans being humans, it's almost inevitable that in some cases sex is going to happen.

Dating apps surge during Olympic Games

Dating apps such as Tinder have been previously reported as spiking in cities hosting the Olympics.

A surge in mobile dating first appeared during the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, after Olympic organisers loosened strict social media guidelines that had been in place during the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Since then, the market for hook-up apps has only grown more popular.

As well as Tinder, gay dating app Grindr is also busy during the games.

During the Rio Olympics, Tinder matches in the Olympic village increased by 129 per cent the company said.

"The Olympics is a very sexually charged time," said Julie Spira, an online and mobile dating expert, at the time.

"Young athletes and attendees have been using dating apps heavily in prior Olympics, but now the popularity of an app like Tinder continues to grow and grow."

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Tinder reported male bobsledders and female snowboarders were the most swiped athletes.

Behind bobsleigh, the most right swiped male athletes on the app were ice hockey players, followed by snowboarders, alpine skiers and skeleton racers.

After snowboarding, the most right swiped female athletes were alpine skiers, bobsledders, lugers and freestyle skiers.

Tinder said it has seen a 348 per cent increase in usage at PyeongChang, compared to the usage of the app in the area before the Olympics began.

Competitors from the US, UK and Sweden are the most likely to jump on the apps.