THE Paris Olympics has just begun, and with it thousands of super fit sports stars have descended onto the French capital in the hope of going for gold and making their nation proud.
And while we can expect an electric atmosphere, high levels of adrenaline and plenty of hearts racing in the stadium, there will also be plenty of that intensity back at the Olympic village too, where the stars are shacked up together for the games.
And it seems competition is rife there too, as competitors look to blow off some steam and vie for each other's affections, with the phrase "What happens in the village stays in the village," reportedly becoming a motto among visitors.
Over 300,000 condoms will be given out to horny stars, despite rumours the cardboard 'anti-sex' beds provided are designed to deter any, ahem, extra-curricular activity during competitions.
But as Laurent Michaud, director of the village, revealed in March that the intimacy ban that had been in place for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been lifted for the 2024 Paris Olympics, this year may well just be the most rampant yet.
What goes on behind the scenes is of course a closely-guarded secret, however plenty of former competitors have spoken out and shared some very revealing insights about what has gone down in previous years.
And given this year will be the first since Covid restrictions have been fully lifted AND it is being held in 'the city of love', it's no doubt going to be one hell of a games.
Former Olympian, German long jumper Susen Tiedtke competed at two events, and spoke to previously, saying that sex at the Olympics is always "inevitable no matter what."
Explaining why, she added: "The athletes are at their physical peak at the Olympics. When the competition is over, they want to release their energy.”
There's good reason for all that sexual chemistry, apparently, with dating expert Jacob Lucas believing being surrounded by so many people in "top physical shape will raise sexual fantasies and desires", while the increased amount of pheromones in the air will impact an athletes sex drive.
In 2016, Brazilian diver Ingrid Oliveira was alleged to have 'banished' her team-mate from their Olympic Village room so she could sleep with fellow sports star, Pedro Goncalves in what was dubbed at the time a 'marathon sex session'.
Speaking out about the scandal a few years later, Ingrid revealed they had slept together, but denied chucking her team mate out the room.
She said: “I took Pedro to my room but it wasn’t the day before my dive as has been reported or the day before his competition.
“People don’t know, but in the Olympics it’s normal.
“You should have seen the number of condoms that were distributed in the Olympic Village. They were everywhere including the canteen and they weren’t there for people to make balloons!"
At the same competition, sprint king Usain Bolt flirted with Brazilian student Jady Duarte, then 20, via the Google Translate app before sneaking her into Olympic Village under the noses of security.
The student revealed everything afterwards, including how she was wooed by a naked dance to Rihanna song 'Work', before making love on his single bed.
Jady then told The Sun: "Usain was an Olympic champion in the bedroom.
"I thought we had something going. But now I can see that he picks up women as quickly as he picks up gold medals."
It seems everyone is at it, too.
Speaking about his experience after the 2000 games in Sydney, American target shooter Josh Lakatos recounted a particularly wild night, telling : "Swear to God, the entire women's 4x100 relay team of some Scandinavian-looking country walks out of the house, followed by boys from our side."
He added: "I'm running a friggin' brothel in the Olympic Village!
"I've never witnessed so much debauchery in my entire life."
He's not the only one to be stunned by how wild it can get.
In his autobiography, Greg Rutherford admitted he was stunned by the sexual antics that go on at major athletics events, saying: "I was staggered by just how many people got absolutely smashed and the bedroom-hopping that took place."
Speaking about the Olympics specifically, he wrote: "In the feverish atmosphere of London 2012 everyone wanted to be associated with a British gold medal winner.
"Overnight, my Twitter following grew hugely... and suddenly I was getting sexual offers.
"And it wasn't only young women — I seemed to have quickly developed quite a big gay following as well, which was really flattering."
It's hardly surprising then, that officials at every games want to encourage safe sex.
Since the 1980s, condoms have been handed out at the beginning of each Olympic games to ensure that the athletes are safe when they have sex, even though it is discouraged by the organisation.
Around 300,000 condoms will be available this year in the Olympic Village - which works out enough for almost two each for every day of the Games.
This includes 200,000 male condoms, 20,000 female condoms, and 10,000 dental dams.
They will also have numerous sexual health testing centres for athletes.
Here, dating expert Jacob Lucas explains while working with industry data platform AltIndex why so many athletes have a heightened sex drive and could be looking to hook up with one another in the Olympic Village...
Everyone is in top physical shape: “Being surrounded by people who have bodies in top physical shape is definitely one of the driving forces as to why so many athletes are having sex at the Olympics. People working out in tight clothes and sometimes with barely any clothes on, it doesn’t leave much to the imagination. This raises people’s sexual desires and fantasies and gets them in the mood.”
Pheromones: “With these athletes constantly around each other all day, socialising, working out and sweating in close proximity to each other, there’s bound to be lots of pheromones in the air. Once someone gets a whiff of these pheromones, and they like what they smell, their sex drive is naturally going to be higher. And if everyone is experiencing the same thing then naturally lots of sex is going to happen.”
Stress relief: “Competing at the Olympics is a very stressful event to most athletes and sex is a great form of stress relief. So, if two people are feeling stressed because they have everything on the line, then a late-night booty call could be just the remedy they are looking for.”
Competitiveness: “Competition is exciting and it gets people’s emotions amped up. If someone is a competitive person, they usually are competitive in other areas of their life, such as their sex life. They want to have as much sex as possible because it feels like an accomplishment to them. Also, to many people, seeing someone compete, especially someone they find attractive, is incredibly sexy. It adds to the appeal of that person because it’s interesting and exciting to watch, especially if they are getting all hot and sweaty.”
Higher sex drives: “It is stated by many that the general consensus is that many sports stars do have a heightened sex drive. Whether it’s the different types of hormones and chemicals that come with working out, things like a healthy diet and regular exercise can also be main contributions to a higher sex drive. If someone is keeping themselves fit, they will often feel more relaxed and in a positive mood which makes getting in the mood for sex A LOT easier.”
Despite the free condoms, there's been a long-running rumour that the beds in each of the athlete's rooms are designed to deter frisky couples having sex.
These beds, made of cardboard, was rumoured to support the weight of only one person - however Olympic organisers have stressed that they were not designed as 'anti-sex beds', but instead to symbolise the competition's commitment to sustainability.
As Ilona Maher, a Team USA rugby player who competed in Japan, reportedly explained in a TikTok: “Y’all thinking athletes, Olympic athletes, the top 1 per cent in the world, are gonna be deterred by some cardboard?"
"We’re the best at what we do, but we’re gonna see a cardboard bed and be like, ‘Ugh, sorry, babe, can’t get freaky tonight, it’s cardboard, what are we gonna do?’ No. Okay? They’ll find a way."
Indeed they will - and they'll get creative if they can't use the beds.
Another athlete, from the 2010 Vancouver winter games, recalled another incident involving six athletes, saying: "It was a late-night whirlpool party. It turned into a whirlpool orgy."
Finally, whatever happens in the stadium in front of fans, there's sure to be plenty of action in the village this year too, with many stars competing in the 'hook-up' Olympics too.
A Tokyo 2020 Olympic athlete who preferred to remain anonymous told Pop Sugar: "By the time my competition was over, I had only one thing on my mind — to hook up and release this pent up energy.
"It's crazy in the Village. Athletes download Tinder just for those two weeks and set their location to the few [miles] radius of the Olympic Village, and both men and women are always on the lookout for a good catch.
"Amongst your closest friends in your team, there's another mini Olympics happening — the hookup Olympics!"
