Paris Olympics organisers stress 'anti-sex' beds have returned for another reason

Thousands of athletes will soon be sleeping on cardboard beds, with the 2024 Paris Olympics set to wow audiences for two and a half weeks.

But organisers are stressing that the beds are for totally innocent reasons after being dubbed 'anti-sex' beds following on from the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Since the 1980s, Olympic organisers have been known to give out free condoms to athletes, with it being an open secret that competitors like to get up close and personal in the famous Olympic Village.

And first appearing in Tokyo back in 2021, with the games postponed for a year due to coronavirus, the beds caused quite a stir given they were made completely from cardboard.

They quickly became known as 'anti-sex' beds, with them reportedly being designed to give way under the weight of intimate acts involving more than just the person who the bed was designated for.

This was, after all, a world in which the Covid recovery was still a thing with being forced to self-isolate having the potential to ruin a top athlete's quest for gold.

But the truth about them is a little less risqué than the rumoured reason for their inception.

What are the 'anti-sex' beds?

The beds themselves are made by Japanese company Airwave.

The company made the beds for the Tokyo Games and has again put them together for Paris 2024.

Airweave founder, Motokuni Takaoka, has stressed that the beds can 'support several people on top' during an event in 2023, with Takaoka even jumping up and down on one of the beds to prove his point.

British diver Tom Daley testing out his 'anti-sex' bed. (Instagram/@tomdaley)

Real reason the 'anti-sex' beds exist

A spokesman for the Paris Games told AFP the real reason why the beds exist and what there are there to do. And no, it's not to stop athletes from getting to know each other.

"We know the media has had a lot of fun with this story since Tokyo 2020," the spokesman said, "But for Paris 2024 the choice of these beds for the Olympic and Paralympic Village is primarily linked to a wider ambition to ensure minimal environmental impact and a second life for all equipment."

That's right, it's all about the environment.

After all, this is an Olympics that has spent a massive €1.4 billion (£1.18 billion) on cleaning up a Parisian river full of E. Coli, ready for athletes to swim down.

South African RU player Libbie Janse van Rensburg giving her mattress a test. (TikTok/@athletelibz)

Can they hold athletes of all sizes?

Athletes come in all shapes and sizes, from 16-year-old skateboarder Sky Brown at 5ft 1in to basketball legend Lebron James at 6ft 9in.

The spokesman for the games stressed that "the quality of the furniture has been rigorously tested to ensure it is robust, comfortable and appropriate for all the athletes who will use it, and who span a very broad range of body types – from gymnasts to judokas."

The beds are made for each athlete, with different firmness levels available depending on what athletes need.

Once the Games are over, the cardboard bed frames will be recycled and the mattresses and pillows donated.