Team GB could have Paris Olympics advantage over ‘anti-sex’ beds

Team GB athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics could have been given an unexpected advantage that they are only just realising. And it concerns everything to do with the 'anti-sex' beds that have made a return.

First appearing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was held in 2021 due to Covid, the beds are entirely recyclable with organisers saying that is their primary purpose when it comes to kitting out athletes with the unusual set up.

They denied they are designed to stop athletes having sex, with a spokesperson telling AFP: "We know the media has had a lot of fun with this story since Tokyo 2020, 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."

Reaction has been mixed with some competitors saying they're absolutely fine to sleep on.

Others, sadly, haven't had such a great experience.

Olympic and Paralympic village director Laurent Michaud said in the build up to the games that he hopes everyone will be 'very enthusiastic and comfortable' about the Paris beds.

Australian water polo star Tilly Kearn, couldn't have had a more different experience describing her bed as 'rock solid' in a TikTok video that she captioned with: "Already had a massage to undo the damage."

And her roommate and teammate, Gabi Palm, described 'her back as about to fall off'.

Fellow Aussie stars Daria Saville and Ellen Perez, who are competing for gold in the tennis, even took to testing their beds with 'various activities'.

We're talking doing the worm, cannon balling, and resistance band high knees - the latter of which saw the bed give way a little.

And British sporting legend Tom Daley has also showed off the sturdiness of his cardboard bed.

But seemingly in a boost for Team GB, it looks like some of the country's athletes have avoided the plague of a sore bad or neck that the likes of Kearns has suffered.

Posting to TikTok, Team GB canoeist Adam Burgess showed a video of his bed in his hotel room.

"You wont believe my bed at the Olympics is made of cardboard," he said.

"That's because it isn't [hands praying emoji]!"

It showed Burgess lifting up his plump hotel mattress to show a proper base underneath.

That's because it turns out that some Team GB athletes are not staying in the Olympic Village but at an official satellite hotel. And it's a hotel that comes with air conditioning as temperatures in Paris hit 30 degrees Celsius next week.

"I’m staying at one of the official ‘satellite’ hotels a bit closer to the venue where I’m competing," Burgess wrote. "Lucky to have my own double room here."

And when one person asked if he feels like he's missing out by not being in the village itself, Burgess replied: "Tough choice but performance first. My event is really early so I get to go have the full experience after at no cost."

He also said he was 'somewhat' missing out on the atmosphere but clarified: "The whole Olympics is a bit of a circus so as much as I can keep things normal and focus on my job the better. Plenty of time to enjoy the village etc after I've competed luckily."

Burgess later revealed that as well as the Team GB canoeists, the rowers are also staying in the hotel alongside guests from other nations.

With a proper night sleep and no need for massages to rid knots in their backs, it could well be advantage to Team GB when it comes to those staying in 'proper' accommodation.

Speaking ahead of the games, Georgina Grenon, director of environmental excellence for the organising committee, said: "I hope that Paris 2024’s efforts to reduce its impact will show that it is possible to do things differently."