'29 condoms per person': Were prophylactics the real star of Paris 2024?

The Olympics are undoubtedly the world's biggest sporting event, and arguably, also the biggest hook up as well. Over the years, the Games has built up a reputation for being a bit of a rompfest for athletes, and Paris didn't disappoint as organizers handed out nearly 300,000 condoms throughout the event. 

According to Olympic Village director Laurent Michaud, 300,000 condoms were provided, which equated to 29 condoms over the course of the Games.

Online publication PopSugar claims they received an email from a Paris 2024 spokesperson who said the order included “200,000 male condoms, 10,000 male condoms without latex, 20,000 female condoms, and 10,000 oral dams — all of which are accompanied with a lubricant pouch.”

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Paris organizers also made an extra effort to ensure athletes were knowledgeable about STIs, with the Olympics and rolled out “a campaign to raise awareness of the main STIs and their modes of transmission at the Polyclinique des Jeux,” per PopSugar.

PopSugar continued, saying that they also provided “screening tests, mainly for HIV, at the polyclinic, with treatment and medication available for these STIs if needed”.

Canadian Olympic sailor Sarah Douglas shared a TikTok showcasing the Olympic branded contraception devices, saying, “No need to be a gold medalist to wear it,” and “On the field of love, play fair: ask for consent.”

Condoms have been distributed since Seoul 1988, with organizers concerned about the spread of HIV and Aids amongst athletes, while also promoting, “healthy behaviors,” per the International Olympic Committee.

Sydney 2000 saw athletes run through the 50,000 condoms that were pre-ordered, with organizers scrambling to order 20,000 more!

While most athletes in the Olympic Village are sexually active, up to 75% per US swimmer Ryan Lochte, for others, the condom allocation misconstrues what it’s like in the village.

Team GB rower Zac Purchase said, “it is an absolutely huge allocation of condoms, But it is all so far from the truth of what it's like to be in there… We're talking about athletes who are focused on producing the best performance of their lives,” per The Guardian.

Paris organizers were relatively tame in their condom allocation, with Rio providing 450,000 prophylactics to athletes, which remains a record, according PopSugar. The COVID-delayed Tokyo Games had an intimacy ban in place, meaning condoms weren’t required.

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