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The 2024 Paris Olympics have shone a light on many random, fascinating things that I, for one, did not know before three weeks ago. For instance: an athlete can be sponsored by cheese; there’s a shocking lack of pagan education (or at the very least Greek mythology) in modern culture; you can get a year’s worth of medical exams for free in two weeks at the Olympic Village (but you have to be an athlete, le sigh); and the food of champions is double chocolate muffins. (Have I been paying attention to items on the periphery of what the Olympics are really about? Yes. Am I bothered by that? No.) Another odd tidbit that’s garnered a lot of attention throughout the games is that chic Paris opted to continue the trend set by Tokyo and host this year’s Olympians in… cardboard beds. Needless to say, the furnishing choice was not appreciated by the hard-working athletes. Or as bronze medal-winning British weightlifter Emily Campbell put it, “The cardboard beds are not a vibe.”
The accommodations for the more than 10,000 Olympians who traveled to Paris weren’t exactly five-star.
British bronze-medal weightlifter Emily Campbell delivered a scathing review of the sleeping arrangements that she endured in the Olympic Village.
“I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed,” Campbell told the BBC after the Olympics. “I know it sounds so… but honestly, the cardboard beds are not a vibe. I’m looking forward to going home and seeing my family because I haven’t been able to catch up with them.”
In Tokyo in 2021, Campbell put up a silver-medal performance in the women’s +87 kg event.
The beds were a central talking point going into Paris.
They were made from recycled materials and reportedly designed to help save resources for the environment, but many joked that they also stop any love-making dead in its tracks.
“I hope that Paris 2024’s efforts to reduce its impact will show that it is possible to do things differently,” said Georgina Grenon, director of environmental excellence for the organizing committee prior to the games.
Wow, looking at pictures of those cardboard bed frames took me right back to high school physics. Allow me to explain: there was one lesson on weight distribution where my teacher had us make “support beams” by rolling up pieces of flimsy printer paper, and then see how many heavy textbooks we could stack on them before the whole thing came tumbling down. It was a lot more than you’d think! So while your first thought may have been, “What is keeping those incredibly fit and muscular athletes from crashing right through the cardboard?” the answer is, science. And speaking of, bravo to Paris for being environmentally conscious with the beds, but were there really no other eco-friendly options available? I’m just trying to reckon how it can be feasible to provide extensive and gratis medical care, but not better beds. C’est un mystère.
When we were talking about hobbies a little while ago, I bragged about eating being the one I participate in with the most gusto. But I neglected to mention sleeping, which I’ve technically dedicated more hours of my life to. Though I can make do fairly well on a couch, to turn in a top notch performance I need to be on my extra-firm mattress, so I totally empathize with the athletes here. (What? Stop laughing.) I used to be a super fluffy mattress girl, but a few years ago when it was mandated by the state that I replace my ancient bed, I dutifully sampled the wares at the department store. And I was shocked I tell you, shocked to discover how good the extra-firm ones felt! It was like my back could finally relax. It was a transcendent level of support. Yes I realize that in Paris it was the frames and not the mattresses that were cardboard. But my point is that if even I need a certain standard of comfort in my physically low-intensity life, then by gosh our Olympians deserve better beds!
What the Paris Olympics did well was pointing out economic inequality and some basic things that positively impact the climate. Swimming in the Seine was creepy and running out of food was wrong, but the impact of recycling beds for the second Olympics was not. Just like jet lag, you can prepare yourself to (gradually) get used to sleeping on a firmer surface—ask senior citizens who suddenly decide to start trekking or take a 500km bike trip.
Rhys McClenaghan (Irish gymnast who won gold) posted a very funny video of himself doing flips etc on the bed to show how sturdy the beds actually are. I was surprised at that!
I’m all for sustainable and recycling, but couldn’t you commission better beds and then donate them after the games? There’s always a need among low income families, shelters, summer camps. Feels like a problem that doesn’t need to exist.
The anti-sex bed rumour made me laugh though. I love that a few years ago people were shocked that the Olympic village was hook up central. Hundreds of adults in peak shape, many of them single, all of them running on high emotion? What exactly was shocking there? 😂
I think you lose the war on getting people to choose more sustainable options when the sustainable options are completely miserable to use. Too often, the former is used to justify the latter.
I think it’s Brazil, where the athlete dorms are abandoned ghost towns, complete with rotting furniture. I would rather athletes sleep slightly uncomfortable for 2 weeks than waste like that.
My question is this: did the members of the IOC and other event organizers also sleep in hot rooms with uncomfortable beds??
Them I don’t know but representatives of various nations stayed in hotels right next to where I work so I don’t think they got cardboard beds. But some athletes were not housed in the Olympic Village. I think that most of the US athletes were housed in a hotel and athletes can choose to go elsewhere. It’s just very badly organised. You expect athletes to compete at their best and you make them sleep on cardboard beds and give them food that is barely good enough.
LOL, as if. The IOC members expect to be feted and showered with luxury goods everywhere they go.
Maybe I’m just being stupid but I don’t understand why the organisers simply didn’t do some sort of sponsorship with a big brand like IKEA for beds that even if they are basic will still be better than cardboard beds ?
I would like to know more about @Kismet’s state’s mandatory new bed!!! Why was it mandated? Enquiring minds and all…..
Honestly, I read the article with the same takeaway… haha.
Yes! What’s up with that?! Were older beds treated with some nasty chemical? That’s about the only thing I can come up with.
OK, did some quick googling. There are federal mandates about flammability in mattresses, so maybe Kismet’s state mandated that older mattresses be replaced for that reason?
Why not buy 10,000 beds or mattresses & donate them to homeless shelters or those in need afterwards? It’s a win-win.
I wouldn’t be able to handle the smell. Yes, cardboard has a smell, and it’s worse in tropical environments (I live in Hawaii), or any humid climate, I would imagine.
Luckily they don’t have to worry about that in 4 years when the Olympic village will be at UcLA and athletes will be staying at the UCLA dorms. Some of these residences were just built 2 years ago, so they’re fairly new. And the university has some of the best dining halls in the country.
Just to add to my post above.. I also read that the food served to the athletes at this years Olympics was not good.
Don’t get me wrong Paris and (France in general) has some amazing cuisine. But I found it a bit odd when we had a layover at CDG airport in Paris earlier this year We stopped by for a quick bite and many to go type of shops If you wanted hot food, you buy it and then use a self-service microwave to warm up your food.
I was a bit surprised to be honest in France of all places.