This Northern Irish Gymnast Proved The “Anti-Sex” Cardboard Beds At The Olympics Is Fake News

Northern Irish gymnast Rhys Mcclenaghan has debunked a rumor that the beds at the Tokyo Olympic Village, which are made of recyclable cardboard, are “anti-sex” in a video that has gone viral.

As part of the Olympic’s commitment to a more sustainable games, the bed frames at the Olympic Village, which were created by Japanese company Airweave, are made out of cardboard that can be recycled.

The unusual material led American runner Paul Chelimo to speculate on Twitter that the beds were created to prevent athletes from having sex and avoid close contact due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Beds to be installed in Tokyo Olympic Village will be made of cardboard, this is aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes. Beds will be able to withstand the weight of a single person to avoid situations beyond sports,” Chelimo tweeted on Saturday July 17, leading people to dub the beds “anti-sex.”

On Saturday, Mcclenaghan, 21, decided to debunk the myth, sharing a video of him jumping up and down on one of the beds on his Twitter.

In the video, Mcclenaghan, who took home bronze at the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships, jumps on the bed while saying, “The beds are meant to be anti-sex. They’re made out of cardboard, yes, but apparently they’re meant to break with sudden movements. It’s fake — fake news!”

His video has since gained more than 2.5 million views and more than 5,000 retweets.

Fraternization among athletes in the Olympic Village have been notorious in the past, with a record 420,000 condoms handed out at the Rio Olympics in 2018.

However with this year’s Games happening during a pandemic, Tokyo organizers have put together a strict playbook of safety measures such as limiting physical contact with other athletes as much as possible.

Three positive COVID-19 cases have already been confirmed in the village.

The opening ceremony for the game is set to begin on Friday July 23, 8pm local time.