This story originally appeared in WIRED Italy. It was translated from Italian.
Yes, the beds of the athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are indeed made of cardboard. The news of the paper beds, which has sparked curiosity and skepticism after some videos of athletes circulated online, was confirmed by the organizers of the French tournament Olympic Gameswhich reported that Airweave, the Japanese company that managed the athletes’ rest at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has been dubbed the “Official Bedding Supporter of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
These cardboard beds can be transported unassembled in relatively small containers, and then, once they are finished using them, they can be recycled. Yet despite the paper construction, the beds themselves, once assembled correctly, have been designed to be surprisingly sturdy, and for good reason.
“We designed these cardboard beds to support up to three or four people jumping, because after winning a medal, people are very happy,” said Motokuni Takaoka, founder and president of Airweave.
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Beds without sex?
The introduction of cardboard beds had rekindled a controversy that had started during the Tokyo Olympics. In 2020, American cross-country skier Paul Chelimo had expressed his concern by posting a video of the beds and speculate that their apparent fragility could be a way to limit intimacy between athletes. The sexless bed theory was later debunked, however, as distancing measures put in place by the Olympic committee aimed to reduce the risk of Covid infection.
However, the ban on intimacy between athletes, which had fuelled these concerns at the time, was lifted by the Olympic committee last March. Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Villages director Laurent Michaud told Sky News at the time that the committee would Distribution of 300,000 condoms to ensure that “everyone gets what they expect and need.”
As for withstanding the rigors of jumping, celebrating or any other type, as shown in the athletes’ videos, the beds are designed to withstand stress up to 250 kg of weight, as well as customizable modularity. mattress system with three blocks of different firmness levels that can be adapted to the different physiques and needs of athletes.
I left all the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in cardboardGao Jing/Xinhua via Getty Images
Sustainable sleep
The use of 16,000 cardboard beds with mattress The installation of fully reusable and recyclable bins for the Paris Games is part of a series of initiatives put in place to make these Games “the greenest ever”, the other being the cleaning of the Seine.
Last week, Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris She donned a wetsuit and diving goggles and completely submerged herself in the Seine, where swimming has been banned for a century and where sewage has been dumped into the river for 50 years. The PR stunt was intended to prove that the water was now clean enough to host several Olympic swimming events and that three public bathing areas would open after the Games.
