Embed from Getty Images
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.

[From NY Post]

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!