The Paris Olympics will commence in four days and the athletes are already settling in at the Olympic Village. However, while the expansive Village boasts a long list of amenities for visitors, not everything seems to be impressing the athletes as the site of a sunset on the Seine.

This year, the Olympic hosts have commissioned the Japanese company Airweave to provide the same beds that were the mainstay of the Tokyo Games and it has been creating quite a ripple. The alleged “anti-s*x beds” have been the talk of the town ever since the athletes got to see these for themselves, not all of them being fans of the furniture.

Paris Olympics could ruin the athletes’ sleep for the next few weeks

Only a couple of days ago, Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan shared his review of the beds provided to the athletes at the Olympics. While the two-time World Championships gold medalist believes the beds are built impressively, others think they might be a little too sturdy for their liking. Social media is being flooded with videos by several Olympians. Australian water poloist Matilda Kearns’s latest TikTok is also taking the world by storm with her review of the cardboard beds. In a post from yesterday (July 22), the star can be seen in her allotted room, bunking with a teammate and they don’t look to be a having good sleep in Paris after having spent one night there.

“My back is about fall off,” Tilly’s comrade can be heard groaning as the former gives her fans a peek into how a slab of foam is set on top of the cardboard with a painful smile. While the Australian stars aren’t having the best time of their lives despite being in the City of Love, South African rugby star Elizabeth van Rensburg is hailing the beds for their consideration to impact the environment as little as possible and gets a sound “thumbs up” from her.

The reigning NCAA gymnastics champion and Philippines representative Aleah Finnegan also posted on TikTok how the beds are being customized for every athlete’s requirements and ultimately concluded the beds as “not super bad“. However, while the stars share mixed opinions on the beds at this year’s Games, let’s not forget how at the last Olympics, things were even more grim all around.

A long way from how things were the last time

The Tokyo Olympics were held three years ago when the world was ravaged by the disastrous COVID-19 pandemic. The severity of the disease made it mandatory for the athletes to maintain strict protocols and refrain from experiencing their time at the biggest sporting event to its fullest extent. To keep the stars and the staff safe, the IOC published an elaborate handbook listing the regulations that the athletes had to adhere to during their stay in Japan. IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi made it apparent what the protocols would help to achieve, and how following the guidelines would help everyone “be stronger together“.

In contrast, the upcoming Paris Olympics will offer virtually all the liberty and amenities for visiting athletes to enjoy their time in the city. The Olympic Village features eight training centers, 3,200 square meters of neighborhood shops, 12 laundries, a 3,500 square meter polyclinic, 800 square meters of entertainment space, and a nursery, all set up to ensure “the best service possible.” While the list of available amenities is extensive, it remains to be seen if the beds will become a pivotal factor impacting the athletes’ performance on the grand stage in the coming weeks.