With the opening ceremony just days away on Friday, athletes are settling into their accommodations and sharing their first impressions of the Paris Olympic Village.
Athletes moving in in Paris are largely focused on their cardboard beds which are making a return after their debut at the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021. Dubbed by some as “anti-sex beds,” their true intention is sustainability.
The official Olympics YouTube channel previewed the beds, which it vowed would be “fully recycled” at the end of the Games. They feature a multi-part cardboard base and a three-part flippable mattress with firmness options.
So what do the athletes think of them?
Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan gave a full review of their durability amid the chatter that they’ve been installed to discourage sex between athletes. He jumped up and down and did flips on his with no obvious repercussions and declared the idea that they’re “anti-sex” as “fake news.”
Indeed, there’s no indication from Olympic organizers that they care one way or another if athletes are or aren’t having sex with each other. McClenaghan’s video was a redux of his 2021 bed test from Tokyo, where he also found his cardboard accommodations to be quite sturdy.
Olympic organizers retweeted that 2021 video alongside a message of appreciation.
Others are joining McClenaghan from Paris in posting bed tests, including British diver Tom Daley, who concurred with McClenaghan’s assessment of their durability.
As for the comfort level of the beds, reviews are mixed.
U.S. gymnast Simone Biles didn’t offer commentary on her bed. She did provide a glimpse inside and out of her dorm room.
Meanwhile, food options in the village appear plentiful.
As for the climate control, not everyone is pleased with the initial plan sans air conditioning. Yahoo Sports’ Henry Bushnell has the full story from the ground on some delegations balking at the organizing committee’s climate-friendly pledge and bringing in air conditioning units to ensure prime comfort and fitness for their athletes at the high-stakes Games.
Surfers staying and competing nearly 10K miles from Paris
Meanwhile, Olympic surfers aren’t even staying in mainland France — or on land at all. They’ll be competing on the other side of the world in the South Pacific off the coast of French Polynesia’s Tahiti, a roughly 9,700-mile flight from Paris.
Instead of staying on the island, Olympic surfers will be housed on a first-of-its kind floating Olympic Village on a cruise ship. The ship is anchored a roughly five-minute ferry ride from the island.
And for those wondering, no; the beds on the floating Tahiti Village are not made of cardboard. At least not German surfer Camilla Kemp’s:
As for the full accommodations — and the view?
Not too shabby.
