(Nation of News)— Athletes’ cardboard-framed beds from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made news years ago, and stories were circulating at the time as to why the beds were used. Following the viral tweet from 2016 Olympic medalist Paul Chelimo stating that the mattresses were “aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes,” others began to refer to them as “anti-sex beds.” Officials at the Olympics refuted this, saying that the cardboard frames were necessary for sustainability. The business that created the mattresses, Airweave, claimed that they were made of polyethylene fibers that could be melted down and used for other purposes instead of cardboard. Airweave will once again provide the Athletes’ Village, which will accommodate thousands of Olympians and sports officials throughout the games, for the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris this year. According to Airweave, they will have 16,000 beds.
“We are aware that this story has been extensively covered by the media since Tokyo 2020,” Olympic organizers said in a statement to Reuters. However, the selection of these beds for the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Paris 2024 is mostly related to a broader goal to guarantee a reduced environmental impact and a second life for every piece of equipment used during the brief Games. The cardboard bed frames, according to Airweave CEO Motokuni Takaoka, will be manufactured in France and given to institutions including the TSUJI Culinary Institute Group, the army, the Paris Opera Ballet School, Emmaüs, and Ecole Hôtelière TSUJI. “With our social good bedding, we pledge to contribute to the Paris 2024 sustainability goals,” Takaoka declared. Although some people may find the concept of cardboard bed frames uncomfortable, Airweave claims that their mattresses—which come in three firmness levels—allow athletes to customize their sleeping environment. The company’s website states that customers with “different body shapes and potential physical ailments” can also personalize their beds.

“When it’s time to turn over when you’re sleeping at night on memory foam,

In theory, this might help athletes fall asleep more quickly because of the way the plastic strands cling to one another. It is also intended to assist in lowering body temperature. But comfort seems to be more important to athletes than the technology in their mattresses. Even on the softest side, the mattress was “rock hard,” according to Australian water polo star Tilly Kearns in a TikTok video. She is not alone in having these feelings. Track and field athlete Nick Mayhugh, who placed third in the Tokyo Paralympics and took home three gold medals, wasn’t a big fan in 2021, but he’s taking things personally this year. “Knowing that Paris is going to have the cardboard beds again—the ‘anti-sex’ beds, which is not what they are for—they are very uncomfortable,” he stated to CBS Sports. Therefore, to be more comfortable than I was in Tokyo, I believe I will get a mattress topper from Amazon and have it transported there. However, perhaps I should sleep in discomfort. Perhaps that explains my four medals.” Though Chari Hawkins’ Olympic debut is in the heptathlon, she also intends to shop since she’s had enough of the mattresses.
“As soon as I get to Paris, I am going on a hunt to find a nice pillow and comforter,” she stated. “I saw the beds in the Olympic Village, and I want to make sure that I can have a great night’s sleep.” A lot of other selections have been made with sustainability in mind, including the beds. Additionally, France is not providing air conditioning at the Olympic Village. However, competitors from the US and a few other nations will have access to portable air conditioning. The organizers of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris established a target to achieve carbon neutrality by halving the greenhouse gas emissions from the previous Summer Games and offsetting any remaining emissions. All of this is consistent with the Paris Agreement, which sets the lofty target of eliminating local emissions by the year 2050.

That theory didn’t appear to hold water, though

Tokyo’s Olympic beds are composed of cardboard that has been recycled. American fencer Katherine Holmes told Business Insider’s Barnaby Lane that it’s usual for accommodations at international competitions, such as the Olympics, to be less than ideal. “I’ve participated in several gaming events. I attended two Pan American Games and two World University Games, and I was in Rio. There’s never a comfy bed. It’s okay, you know; I don’t wake up in the middle of the night wailing in pain. Although it’s not the most comfy bed I’ve ever slept on, it works. The fact that they are constructed of cardboard is kind of humorous. They’re not too weak.
You can bounce off of them. It’s kind of dumb because we would have gotten into trouble if it had broken, but we bounced on it, and it held up just fine.” According to a Paris Games spokeswoman, the mattresses have been “rigorously tested” in May to guarantee that athletes of all shapes and sizes may fit inside them. When the Olympics are over, the bed frames are recycled, and the mattresses and pillows are given to different charities and educational institutions. The Olympic Village, which is dispersed over three cities, will host the athletes. The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Games is scheduled for July 26, and it will conclude on August 11.