Official organisers are swapping condoms for alcoholic beverages as door gifts at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

As viewers around the world wait impatiently for the start of 2021’s Olympic Games, those participating are getting their “naughty” wings clipped! Thousands of celebrated athletes will be arriving at the Olympic Village situated in Tokyo’s Harumi neighbourhood next month. The specially-constructed Olympic accommodation complex will also house trainers, representatives and various officials for the entire duration of the event. The estimated total of arriving athletes alone number 11,000!

Naturally, as Japan is still battling daily Covid cases, concern over the wellbeing of all participants is a topmost priority. With that being said, officials from the organising committee have made it known that social distancing is something no one must compromise on, and they have articulated a number of activities that should not take place under any circumstance; one of them being sexual intercourse.

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE OLYMPICS, STAYS AT THE OLYMPICS

If you love sports and stay up-to-date with athlete gossip, apparently, it’s no secret that the Olympic Village turns into a hive of hook-up activity throughout the duration of the games. In fact, it’s been quite normalised by participants, and casual sexual activity amongst delegates has become something quite common and expected at the Olympics.

Controversial American Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte had gone on record to say he estimated that around 70 to 75 percent of athletes participated in some sort of sexual activity while living in the Olympic Village.

If this sounds shocking to some, the surprise goes even further when you factor in the psychology and rationale behind the whole scandalous idea. Olympic athletes train at superhuman levels, and considering the the kind of energy and focus that’s expected of them when preparing for the biggest sporting event in human history, it also primes their physiques for sexual activity as a way to decompress.

Bustle explains how this very natural occurrence happens to athletes who are required to consume thousands of calories a day, which are then combined with various biological chemicals such as adrenaline and endorphins to create a “perfect storm” that “drives the urge for high-octane sex.”

Organisers have been aware of these extra-curricular activities for a long time, which can happen between athletes and delegates, or even with non-Olympic participants from outside. For this reason, organisers have supplied all participants over the years with officially branded Olympic Games condoms for both men and women to encourage the practice of safe sex.

The practice of distributing condoms at the games started in 1988 at the Seoul Olympics, which was an active response to the rising number of HIV/AIDS cases at the time. Since then, it’s become a customary practice at every Olympics, and the number of condoms being distributed has increased dramatically, from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. For instance, at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a record-breaking total of 450,000 condoms were given out to participants.

Unfortunately with a pandemic being a major threat to safety concerns, organisers of the Tokyo Olympics are forced to take sterner measures for the benefit of every single person arriving into Japan. Athletes have officially been strictly advised against taking part on any sexual activity throughout the course of the games.

RETRACTING THE RUBBER

In fact, organisers of the Tokyo games are showing how serious they are by withholding all customary condom distribution till after the closing ceremony, and even then, participants will be informed that use of the condoms is only for when they’ve returned to their home countries.

The decision has not been met with total understanding, however, and critiques have expressed dissatisfaction over organisers supplying condoms, yet discouraging their use. Organisers have responded with a reprimand that the availability of condoms was not to encourage sex, but to spread awareness of the dangers of unprotected sex.

“The condoms are not meant to be used while in the village, but to increase awareness of the dangers of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases,” said Takashi Kitajima, the manager of the Olympic Village at this year’s event. “Not only medals, but all Olympic athletes have the power to spread messages in their home countries.”

In order to placate athletes over this latest “disruption” to their Olympic experience, certain concessions have been made, one being permission to bring in and consume alcohol within the village; but only in private, as participants are discouraged being caught drinking in the open.

“When you drink alcohol, in principle, you are requested to drink alone,” said Kitajima, who asked athletes to confine all drinking sessions to their own rooms and without the presence of other guests.