Paris 2024 Olympics organizers are preparing for an unofficial 33rd sport when the Summer Games kick off in just over a week.
French organizers in charge of first aid said in March that about 200,000 condoms for men, 20,000 for women, and 10,000 dental dams will be made available to the 10,500 Paris Olympians — 5,250 men and 5,250 women, the first Olympics to achieve gender equity. That equates to just over two condoms per day for each male Olympic athlete across the 17-day event.
There are slightly conflicting reports over the exact number of condoms as the director of the Olympic Village said that 300,000 would be distributed. Either way, the figure is more than the 160,000 condoms at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, where athletes were told to take them home as souvenirs instead of use them due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions dubbed an “intimacy ban.”
Rio 2016 owns the record for most condoms at 450,000 total, about 42 for each Olympian in Brazil. Since condom distribution debuted at the Seoul 1988 Olympics amid the HIV-Aids epidemic, the number offered by organizers has skyrocketed from 50,000 at Barcelona 1992 to 100,000 at Beijing 2008 to 150,000 at London 2012.
Paris 2024 organizers are aiming to create an environment where athletes can feel comfortable socializing, even adding a club with a lounge and a non-alcoholic bar in the Olympic Village. Most rooms include two beds, with frames made of cardboard that can support 550 pounds. The village will also have sexual health testing centers and an educational campaign to raise awareness about safe practices.
Four-time Olympic medalist Summer Sanders once told ESPN that “what happens in the village stays in the village.” Before the London 2012 Olympics, Ryan Lochte said, “My last Olympics, I had a girlfriend — big mistake. Now I’m single, so London should be really good. I’m excited.”
