Are the Tokyo Olympics’ Beds for Athletes Really Made out of Cardboard?
There have been a lot of discussions surrounding the beds at the Tokyo Olympics after learning that the beds for the world's top athletes are constructed out of cardboard.
This idea in itself sounds very bizarre and unusual considering rest is an important part of recovery for Olympic athletes, but there is a lot more to the beds than just being cardboard.
The beds being used for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan has been provided by the company Airweave. The mattresses are created from Polyethylene fibers, which are able to be recycled an unlimited number of times.
For Tokyo, this is exactly what they were looking for when trying to find beds that would be able to be recyclable. Since the beds are able to be fully recycled, that would make the Tokyo Olympics the first time in Olympic and Paralympic history where all of the beds and bedding would be made almost completely out of renewable materials, something that the committee should be very proud of.
The 18,000 beds for Olympic athletes and 8,000 beds for Paralympic athletes are not only fully recyclable but they are sturdy and are supposed to be better than beds that would be made out of wood or other materials. The beds are able to support up to 441 pounds and have been designed to ensure that they are able to accommodate different bodies and sleep styles through customization capabilities.
Despite the reason the beds were used for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there is some speculation as to whether or not there are any other reasons for the use of cardboard beds for one of the world's most prolific events.
On social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, fans of the Olympics and athletes alike have suggested that the beds were created as a way to prevent athletes from having sex as a way to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
The myth of the beds being used as a way to prevent athletes from having sex has been put to the test when several athletes would stand or jump on the bed, which they ended up posting on social media to show others.
As for the rumor on the beds being used to prevent the spread of COVID-19, this is also false.
The beds to be used for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics had already been decided in September of 2019, months before the COVID-19 outbreak. Yoshihito Mitxutami, the president of the cardboard manufacturer J Packs, had made the decision to tweak his design of the beds to incorporate higher partitions that offered better social distancing. So yes, the beds have been altered to help with social distancing but they were not used for the purposes of limiting the spread of COVID-19.
There has been a lot of chatter and jokes being made about the decision to provide some of the world's best athletes beds made of cardboard for the Olympics this year both before the event started and even more so now that fans can see the rumors are officially true. While the decision initially comes off as comical and somewhat cheap at face value, it appears that there is more to the story.
So maybe after all maybe the use of cardboard beds isn’t nearly as bad as people thought seeing that they can be completely recyclable and are sturdy enough for Olympic athletes.