'Anti-sex' beds are back and getting no action for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 2024 Summer Olympics are not far away, as the multi-sport event is set to take place from 26 July to 11 August in France.
Paris and 16 other cities will host the games, plus one subset in Tahiti.
Off-the-track, however, it seems that the Olympic Village has somewhat of a reputation for hosting the odd fling or two over the years.
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American swimmer Ryan Lochte previously revealed to ESPN that '70 to 75 percent' of Olympians get intimate during the games.
Former Olympians have also claimed that the beds in the Olympic village are allegedly aimed at stopping frisky sportspeople from getting it on under the covers.
The Olympic organisers have denied this, however, 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."
Designed by manufacturer Airwave, the twin-sized beds are made of thin, cardboard frames and look very uncomfortable.
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Meanwhile, Olympic and Paralympic village director Laurent Michaud insists that the beds are designed to make athletes 'feel very enthusiastic and comfortable' in the village.
"It is very important that the conviviality here is something big," he told Sky News.
"Working with the athletes commission, we wanted to create some places where the athletes would feel very enthusiastic and comfortable.
"No champagne in the village, of course, but they can have all the champagne they want also in Paris.
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"We will have more than 350 metres of buffet with the world food... and I'm sure that the athletes will be very happy to have some French specialties made over here.
"But the variety will first respond to the athletes' needs for their nutrition and their performance."
Meanwhile, former long jump star Susen Tiedtke told Bild before the Tokyo Olympics: "[The ban] is a big laughing stock for me, it doesn't work at all.
"Sex is always an issue in the village. The athletes are at their physical peak at the Olympics. When the competition is over, they want to release their energy."
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US football star Hope Solo also revealed that she saw people 'having sex right out in the open'.
"Athletes are extremists," she told ESPN. "When they're training, it's laser focus. When they go out for a drink, it's 20 drinks.
"With a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you want to build memories, whether it's sexual, partying or on the field. I've seen people having sex right out in the open. On the grass, between buildings, people are getting down and dirty."
Despite the claims, Georgina Grenon, the organising committee’s director of environmental excellence, is hopeful that the whole design on the village has sustainability in the front of its mind.
"I hope that Paris 2024's efforts to reduce its impact will show that it is possible to do things differently," she said.
Anish Vij