IOC reacts after Irish gymanst jumps on bed at Tokyo Olympics to rubbish 'anti-sex' claim - WATCH
The International Olympic Committee said the beds at the Games are 'sturdy' after Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan shared a video of himself jumping on them.
Irish gymnast jumps on beds at the Tokyo Olympics to debunk 'anti-sex' claims. | Photo Credit: Twitter
Key Highlights
- Recently pictures of beds made of cardboard at the Tokyo Olympics had gone viral on social media
- A report claimed that the beds are 'anti-sex' to avoid intimacy between the athletes at the Games village
- The International Olympic Committee has now debunked the 'anti-sex' myth surrounding the beds
The rumours of the beds at the Olympics village in Tokyo being 'anti-sex' had recently gone viral on social media. It all started after a report in the New York Post claimed that the cardboard beds at the Tokyo Olympics have been installed to ensure the athletes don't get a chance to get intimate. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has now rubbished the claim and said the cardboard beds are 'sturdy'.
Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan decided to debunk the myth of the beds being 'anti-sex' by jumping on them. In a video shared by him on Twitter, McClenaghan can be seen continuously jumping on a bed to prove his point. A report in the New York Post had claimed that the beds have been designed to ensure athletes don't get intimate and practice social distancing.
In a video shared on Twitter, McClenaghan called it fake news. "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," the gymnast said in the video.
The International Olympic Committee reacted to his video and assured that the beds are sturdy and sustainable. "Thanks for debunking the myth.Face with tears of joyYou heard it first from @TeamIreland gymnast @McClenaghanRhys - the sustainable cardboard beds are sturdy," IOC said in a tweet.
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US distance runner Paul Chelimo was the first to tweet about the cardboard beds at the Games and had alleged that they were "aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes". In a tweet, he wrote, "Beds will (only) be able to withstand the weight of a single person to avoid situations beyond sports."
Soon after his tweet, the cardboard beds at the Tokyo Games became a topic of discussion online with fans from across the world sharing their views on the organisers idea to install such beds at the Games village. However, IOC has now clarified that the beds are by no means 'anti-sex'.
"We've conducted experiments, like dropping weights on top of the beds," a spokesperson of the manufacturer Airweave had earlier told AFP.
"As long as they stick to just two people in the bed, they should be strong enough to support the load," he added.
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