Olympians Are Putting Cardboard Beds to the Ultimate Test—But It's Not What You Think

Athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics are already providing some gold medal-worthy insight into Olympic Village.

Take, for example, Team USA rugby player Ilona Maher, who put the famous "anti-sex" cardboard beds to the test.

"Hey everyone we are back again in the Olympic Village testing out the cardboard beds," Ilona said in a TikTok July 23 alongside her fellow Olympians. "Am I afraid my bed is gonna break? Yes. But I'm gonna do it anyway. Let's go!"

And go the athletes did, trying out everything you can think of to see what might actually break the bed—including fake childbirth (with three people on the bed), gymnastics routines, an intense wrestling session that they had to break apart, breakdancing, the 2013 Vine dance "Grind on Me" and, of course, a TikTok dance thrown in for good measure. They even attempted an Irish jig, jokingly quipping, "We do not mean to offend any Irish people."

Amazingly, throughout all of the increasingly hilarious tests, the cardboard bed remained intact.

The Team USA rugby players aren't the first to give a peek at the beds British diver Tom Daley recently shared his own video showing off the living quarters.

"This is cardboard," Tom explained in a July 22 TikTok. "Then you've got the mattress and then this cardboard with the mattress on top with a mattress topper. And then, we get our own Paris '24 [comforter]."

And of course, the 30-year-old, who is marking his fifth Olympics at the 2024 Paris Games, made sure to test the bed with some serious jumping, adding, "As you can see, they're pretty sturdy!"

The beds themselves first went viral during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for their fragile appearance and the idea that they were supposed to promote an "anti-sex" stance in the Olympics Village, which is known for some rather wild antics.

But according to the company behind the bed, that is a complete misnomer.

"The funny part is, there was no truth to that," Airweave COO Brett Thornton recently told E! News. As he explained, the rumors started because of the COVID-19 protocols at the time, which discouraged athletes from mingling in the Olympic Village. "The rumor was that the Olympic teams didn't want athletes sleeping together, so they designed this flimsy cardboard bed so people wouldn't do that."

And while he did admit the beds may look flimsy, the beds and the mattresses themselves were designed to be firm enough to align athletes' spines and help provide longer, deep sleep.

"When you're sleeping at night and you're in memory foam and it's time to turn," he emphasized, "you actually have to put so much effort to turn that you wake up from a deep sleep. You come out of deep REM and then it takes you another five minutes to get back in."

Moreover, the beds provide another important perk: sustainability. When it's time to pack up the Olympic Village, the beds and mattress can be recycled.

Curious about other interesting rules the Olympians have to follow at the 2024 Olympics? Keep reading.

No french fries at the Olympics in France? Oui.

As it turns out, the dish won't be on the menu at the Olympic Village in Paris.

"French fries are too risky," chef Charles Guilloy explained to The New York Times in May, "because of fire-hazard concerns over deep-fat fryers.

Athletes won't be able to find foie gras or start their day with some avocado toast at the village either.

"No to foie gras because animal well-being is on everyone’s mind," Guilloy continued, "and no to avocados because they are imported from a great distance and consume a lot of water."

While some Olympians may want to toast to their success with a glass of bubbly, they won't be able to at the Olympic Village. 

"No champagne in the village, of course," Director of the Olympic and Paralympic Villages Laurent Michaud told Sky News in March, "but they can have all the champagne they want also in Paris."

And even though there's a sports bar in the village, it won't be serving any alcohol.

"We wanted to create some places where the athletes will feel very enthusiastic and comfortable, so they can have some conversations, discussions and to share their core values about sports," Michaud shared with the outlet. "So we have made a village club, also, with a lounge, with a sports bar, with Coca-Cola—I mean, no alcohol, of course, over there. But it's going to be a great place so they can actually share their moment and the environment here."

Talking about a lack of air conditioning during the Summer Games is one way athletes can break the ice.

Olympic organizers have opted to forgo a.c. in the Olympians' rooms and instead rely on another way to stay cool.

"We designed these buildings so that they would be comfortable places to live in in the summer, in 2024 and later on," Yann Krysinski, SVP of SOLIDEO (the entity in charge of the major infrastructures for the Olympics), told Reuters in February, "and we don't need air conditioning in these buildings because we oriented the facades so that they wouldn't get too much sun during the summer, and the facades, the insulation is really efficient."

He added, "We also are providing naturally cool water that we're getting from underground to cool the air of these apartments. So you will not need air conditioning in the summer here."

Still, not all competitors were chill with this decision, and the United States Olympic Committee's CEO Sarah Hirshland previously confirmed Team USA will have air conditioning in their rooms. According to The Washington Post, Britain, Canada, and Italy's teams are among those bringing a.c. units as well.

During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the playbook urged athletes to "keep physical interactions with others to a minimum" amid the coronavirus pandemic. There were also those cardboard cots that social media users dubbed the "anti-sex" beds.

And while condoms were handed out to the athletes, the intention was for them to "take them back to their home countries and raise awareness" for HIV and AIDS, organizers told Reuters.

While the cardboard beds are back for the 2024 Paris Olympics, there isn't the same level of social distancing protocols. And there will be condoms on hand for the approximately 14,250 Olympic Village residents.

"We are aiming to have 300,000 condoms here at disposal for the athletes in the village," Michaud told Sky News. "It's a quantity that makes sure that everybody will have what they're expecting and what they need."

If athletes want to share social media content, they're going to need to follow some #rules.

For instance, the International Olympic Committee's guidelines state athletes can share audio and video recordings from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Olympic Village, Champions Park, training venues and practice areas. The rules also note athletes can post recordings from competition veneus up to an hour before their events begin and after the they've left the "mixed zone/doping control station."

However, the guidelines make it clear that these recordings cannot exceed two minutes per post. In addition, the rules state athletes cannot share videos of medal ceremonies or sports competitions (including anthems, coin tosses or celebrations on the field) and that the clips cannot be live.

And while photos can be taken at the Games if the Olympians follow the guidelines, the rules explain that pictures and videos cannot be shared if they're commercial, use AI or feature the "medical areas, doping control station or mult-faith centre."

Trying to help the planet? Now that move deserves a gold medal.

Paris is banning single-use plastics during the 2024 Olympics, including at festival sites, competition locations and the Marathon Pour Tous.

According to the city's tourism website, reusable, non-glass water bottles will be allowed at festival and competition sites and attendees will be permitted to bring their own containers, bowls or cups for eating and drinking. Runners will also drink from reusable cups during the marathon.

"Whether it's drinking, having an ice cream or a takeaway meal," the website reads, "all containers and cups will be reusable."

Did you know you don't have to wear shoes while running a race? 

According to World Athletics' rules, "Athletes may compete barefoot or with footwear on one or both feet."

In fact, Abebe Bikila from Ethiopia ran the marathon barefoot at the 1960 Olympics in Rome and won the gold medal. Similarly, Zola Budd ran the 3,000 metres barefoot while competing for Great Britain at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, coming in seventh.

There's actually a rule for what happens when a tennis ball hits a bird during a match.

According to the International Tennis Federation, if a ball strikes a bird that's flying overheard, it's considered a hindrance and the point is replayed.

In a canoe with a broken paddle? Let's just say you don't want to be in that boat.

According to the International Canoe Federation's guidelines, an athlete with a broken paddle during the canoe slalom "must drop back and/or complete the course alone. The broken end of the paddle is considered dangerous. They may drop the paddle and use their hands to finish the course."

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