Is it true that “anti-sex beds” were installed in the Olympic Village in Tokyo?

On the eve of the Olympics, information appeared in the media that athletes will have to sleep on special cardboard beds on which they cannot have sex. We checked whether this is actually true.

The Olympic Village decided to fight the spread of coronavirus in an unconventional way - The organizers of the Olympics allegedly installed special beds in the athletes’ rooms that break due to sudden movements. Many Russian media reported about this: Lenta.ru, "Moskovsky Komsomolets", "RIA Novosti", Esquire, Meduza. Thematic resources did not stand aside either: they wrote about anti-sex beds, for example, Eurosport, "Sport Express" and authors of several blogs on Sports.ru.

The beds in the Tokyo Olympic Village are truly unusual - their frames are made of cardboard. Like in January 2020 explained the head of the village, Takashi Kitajima, they are stronger than wood and can withstand weight up to 200 kg. The very idea to make beds from such materials arose from the desire to make the Games as environmentally friendly as possible - after the tournament, the furniture will be sent for recycling. At the same time, Kitajima emphasized that the beds will withstand even the “crazy celebration” after winning the competition. By the way, presented an unusual design back in the fall of 2019, long before the start of the pandemic.

During the Games, athletes really recommended don't have sex. This is due to coronavirus restrictions - competitors must "avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact." Despite this, in accordance with the tradition that appeared at the Games in Seoul in 1988, athletes distributed 160,000 condoms.

Probably, rumors about anti-sex beds began to be spread by athletes themselves - for example, on July 17, American Paul Chelimo wrote on Twitter that the sleeping areas are specially designed to "avoid intimacy between athletes." However, a refutation appeared on the same platform - the story about the special bed decided check Irish gymnast Reece McClenaghan. He recorded a video of himself jumping on a bed in the Olympic Village - the cardboard structure survived. Subsequently, the I.O.C. thanked athlete for “debunking the myth.”

Mostly not true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. AP News. An Olympic First: Cardboard beds for Tokyo Athletes Village
2. The Guardian. Tokyo Olympics athletes warned not to use 160,000 free condoms
3. Newsweek. Fact Check: Have Tokyo Olympics Athletes Been Given 'Anti-Sex' Beds?