The Olympic Games, often hailed as the pinnacle of athletic achievement and a chance to etch your name in history, also has a reputation for being a hotbed of sexual activity every four years.
Regardless of whether you secure a medal, there appears to be a high likelihood of scoring off the field too.
The organizers are well aware too. For the upcoming Paris Olympics, they’ve stocked up with 200,000 male condoms, 20,000 female condoms, and 10,000 dental dams for athletes’ use – and there’s no guarantee that will be enough.
Michaud Laurent, the Director of the imposing Olympic Village, confirmed that they were working with French health authorities to ensure “safe” Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In an interview at the Olympic Village at the St Denis district of Paris, on Tuesday evening, Laurent argued that the Olympic rings branding of the contraceptives could also have played a role in triggering athlete interest.
“Yes, indeed, we have given out the condoms because for us, the health and safety of the athletes is the most important thing. We are working with the local authorities in the State to have these condoms available in the Village for the athletes to use, if they want,” Laurent confirmed.
“We have given out 200,000 condoms for use by the athletes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and this is the figure we have worked through with the State Department (of health).
“They (condoms) are still available… they have an Olympic logo branding and perhaps that’s why the uptake has been good also,” he added.
By Tuesday evening, 8,000 athletes and officials had checked into the Olympic Village, representing an occupancy rate of over 50 percent, but Laurent couldn’t immediately confirm how many of the contraceptives had been consumed or if they would need to revise their supply numbers upwards.
