Tokyo Olympics 2020: Cardboard beds to ‘avoid’ intimacy among athletes

Team Udayavani, Jul 18, 2021, 1:06 PM IST

It’s time for Tokyo Olympics!

The athletes along with being mindful of the pandemic situation also have to be careful about the cardboard beds.

The bed frames installed in the Athletes Village are made of cardboard. Associated Press quoted Takashi Kitajima, the general manager of the Athletes Village saying, “Those beds can stand up to 200 kilograms,” further adding, that a “wild celebration” such as an athlete bagging a gold could perhaps be bad news for the bed. “Of course, wood and cardboard would each break if you jumped on them,” he said.

The idea of a cardboard bed was to be easy on the environment and our planet. The single-bed cardboard frames would be recycled into paper after the conclusion of the games while the mattresses (not made of cardboard) will undergo recycling only to be turned into plastic products.

The cardboard beds at the Games were introduced all the way back in January 2020 but due to COVID-19, everything came to a standstill. The concept of cardboard beds was brought to life days ahead of the marquee event by Rio Olympics silver medallist Paul Chelimo.

Chelimo tweeted saying that the beds were, in fact, aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes.

https://twitter.com/Paulchelimo/status/1416240846039523331

He further warned those who wet the bed.

At this point I will have to start practicing how to sleep on the floor; cause If my bed collapses and I have no training on sleeping on the floor i’m done😂

More added stress heading into Tokyo!

— Paul Chelimo🇺🇸🥈🥉🥉 (@Paulchelimo) July 17, 2021

https://twitter.com/Paulchelimo/status/1416249089558122497

Apart from the cardboard beds, there are other environmentally-conscious efforts made by the Tokyo 2020 organizers. Reuters reported that the medals are made out of discarded electronic wastes including 6.2 million used mobile phones while the Olympic torch is made out of aluminum waste, further adding that the Games will be powered by renewable energy.