By now, you’ve likely heard of the cardboard beds Olympic athletes are sleeping on at the Paris 2024 Games.
First introduced in Tokyo three years ago, the beds were wrongly dubbed “anti-sex beds” as many assumed them to be a response to the pandemic. Numerous athletes have debunked that myth by jumping up and down on the beds. So getting it on in the City of Love shouldn’t be a problem if athletes choose to do so.
What might be more challenging is getting a good night’s sleep.
Athletes have arrived at the Olympic Village in Paris ahead of the Opening Ceremony on Friday. A number of athletes have been providing reviews of the beds, which will be fully recycled after the Olympics.
The reviews are mixed.
“Last night wasn’t the comfiest night. I’m not a fan of firm beds,” said Canadian Olympic diver Caeli McKay.
McKay said she got an extra bed cushion to help matters, but the bed was clearly still a far cry from one you’d get at a reasonably priced hotel.
@caelimckay Cardboard beds at the olympics? YEP #paris2024 #cardboardbeds #olympics #parisolympics #canada
Here’s another look at the cardboard structure, courtesy of Sofia Reinoso of Mexico, who will compete in canoe slalom.
@sofireinosokayak responding the most asked question 😉 #villaolimpica #paris2024 #juegosolimpicos #olympicgames #sofireinoso #tiktokdeportes #cartboardbeds #olympicvillage
While the bed frame is made of cardboard, the mattress is composed of a weaved hard plastic-like material the manufacturer calls “Airfiber technology.”
“It’s not very soft,” said Filipino gymnast Aleah Finnegan. “I don’t think the beds are gonna go anywhere. So, there’s that. They’re not that comfortable.”
@aleahfinn Definitely not the finest mattress ever but it will do😭 #fyp #foryou #cardboardbeds #olympics #olympicbeds
Irish rugby player Harry McNulty focused on debunking the anti-sex bed rumour.
“Supposedly, the structure of this bed will collapse if there’s more than one person on it,” he said, before jumping on the bed with a teammate.
“Think it’s all good.”
@saltynuts_ Anti 🎷 bed conspiracy put to the test #parisolympics2024 #olympics @Jordan Conroy
“My back is about to fall off,” said a teammate of Australian water polo player Tilly Kearns after sleeping on the mattress.
“It’s actually rock solid,” Kearns added before showing off the different firmness levels of the mattress.
They all appear to be too firm, though.
@tillykearns Already had a massage to undo the damage
According to South African rugby player Libbie Janse van Rensburg, athletes can actually get their mattress specs worked out with a mattress fitting service in the Olympic Village.
“Gets a thumbs up,” she said.
@athletelibz What’s the deal with the beds in the Olympic Village? Here’s the scoop👀 #fyp #Olympics2024 #olympicvillage #olympicbeds #cardboardeds
“It’s like a box,” said Tom Daley, a gold medal-winning diver from Great Britain. “They’re pretty sturdy.”
@tomdaley CARBOARD BEDS IN THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE! #paris2024 #olympics
South African skateboarder Brandon Valjalo decided to give the bed a unique “strength test.”
@brandonvaljalo Strength tested the new cardboard beds 😂 #olympics
Life in the Olympic Village
The Paris 2024 Olympics are the first Games of the TikTok era, save for the pandemic-affected ones in Tokyo and Beijing.
We’ve never had access to this level of behind-the-scenes looks at an Olympics before.
Here’s a room tour from Nico Keenan, a field hockey player from Argentina.
@nicokeenan97 Our place for the next two weeks🇦🇷👀 #olympicvillage #parisolympics2024 #cardboardbed
The Olympic Village is filled with restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, and a lot more, as Filipino gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar shows.
“It’s pretty incredible,” she said.
@levijungruivivar COFFEE IS LIFE #olympicvillage #olympics #paris2024 #sport #athlete #behindthescenes #viral #viralvideo #trend #trending #gym #fitness #dayinthelife #gymnastics #bake #food #foodtiktok #bread #france #philippines #adidas #cocacola #coffee #morning #bakery #meal #eat #fyp #foryou #verified #lifestyle #tour #review @Olympics @adidas @aleah @Costa Coffee @paris2024 @hyperice @GoStanford
Here’s a quick tour of the Olympic Village courtesy of Jessica Fox, an athlete from Australia in the sport of canoeing.
@jessfoxcanoe Some of the activities & spaces inside the #olympicvillage of #paris2024
Australian tennis player Daria Saville showed how Olympians do some of the more mundane activities. Their rooms are not like hotels, so athletes have to go to another building to get necessities like toilet paper.
@dasha_tofu Happy pooping girls #olympicvillage
Of course, not all the athletes will be competing in Paris. Some sports are being played elsewhere in France and in the case of surfing, that’s being played on the other side of the world, in French Polynesia.
The Olympic Village in Tahiti is aboard a luxury cruise ship, as German surfer Camilla Kemp shows.
@camilla_kemp FIRST FLOATING OLYMPIC VILLAGE @Olympics #teamdeutschland #olympics #paris2024 #surfingolympics #surfing