Everything to know about the ‘anti-sex’ Olympic beds that have made a comeback

The infamous “anti-sex” beds have returned for the Paris Olympic Games 2024 and have now become part of Olympic lore, but what exactly is the story—and the truth—behind them?

The Olympic Games are known worldwide as the pinnacle of sports competition, a quadrennial gathering of the best athletes from all around the world to compete against each other and make their nations proud.

And apparently, it’s also a great time for athletes to get busy. 

Legend has it that the Olympic Village, the designated place where competitors reside for the duration of the competition, is also a place where athletes conduct, uh, “celebrations” of the rigorous sort—and they reportedly celebrate a lot. It is reportedly why the infamous “anti-sex” beds were introduced in the Tokyo Olympic Games 2021, beds which have made a comeback for this year’s Games. After all, if athletes are tempted to get it on in Tokyo, surely they will be all the more fired up now that they’re in the iconic City of Love.

But what is the truth behind all this? Does the International Olympic Committee really not want the athletes getting it on? Are the beds intentionally made to hinder “intense cardio exercise”? Will the Paris 2024 athletes only get medals and not “get some”?

[Hero image: Akio KON / POOL / AFP]

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The “anti-sex” beds of the Olympic Games: What exactly are they?

Sweet dreams! The #Paris2024 Olympic beds 🛏️ 😴

These are the same cardboard beds used at #Tokyo2020! They’re now in the @paris2024 Olympic Village, waiting for the athletes to arrive. 💫#RoadToParis2024 pic.twitter.com/5QHB3s79zX

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 4, 2024

The beds in question were introduced in Tokyo 2021 and are made of a material not even IKEA would dare to attempt: cardboard. It’s easy to immediately assume that these beds will definitely buckle under great weight let alone immense, uh, effort. Cardboard is flimsy after all, right?

But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, the Japanese company behind the alleged “anti-sex” beds, Airweave, said that the beds are incredibly sturdy. “We designed these cardboard beds so that they can support up to three or four people jumping, because after winning a medal, people are very happy,” said Airweave president Motokuni Takaoka via Wired. Sure, we can say they’re “jumping”.

If there’s still any doubt about how these cardboard beds hold up, just watch the TikToks some of the athletes of this year’s games have posted stress-testing them. If British diver Tom Daley and Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan can freely jump on them without the beds collapsing, lovemaking isn’t going to break these things. And these are only two of the many athletes who have stress-tested these babies.

Separating rumours and facts

So where in the world did the rumour start that these beds were meant to hinder adult fun time? The answer isn’t surprising: Twitter.

As per People, American track and field runner Paul Chelimo alleged in a now-deleted tweet back in 2021 that the beds were made with the intent of stopping athletes from getting intimate with each other. Twitter being Twitter, the rumour spread, and as such, the legend of the Olympic anti-sex beds grew. 

But the true reason why the beds are made of cardboard is that they produce less waste and can be recycled afterwards. They can be broken down, transported easily, and can be reused and recycled after their use. It’s one of the initiatives to make this year’s games “the Greenest Ever Games” according to Wired.

And if you still think that the Olympic Committee is against athletes getting busy, the fact that they’re giving away 300,000 condoms to the athletes should put that to rest. Laurent Michaud, director of the Olympic Village, told Sky News, “It is very important that the conviviality here is something big… everybody will have what they are expecting and what they need.” 

Paris truly is the City of Love.