15,000 condoms, social distance at Tokyo Olympics
Athletes competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – which was postponed by a year because of the coronavirus games – will be offered about 150,000 free condoms at the village, media reports in Japan report.
This amount tabulated to about 14 condoms to each of the 11,000 male and female athletes who will stay at the village during the competition.
But then how the athletes are expected to use these condoms is subject to speculation, as the International Olympic Committee has advised athletes to avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact including hugs, high fives, and handshakes. Athletes are also encouraged to keep 2 meters, or 6 feet, apart from other athletes during the games to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus, according to a 33-page playbook released this week.
Condoms have long been handed out at the Olympics, and organizers told AFP this week that they were planning on continuing the tradition, according to Japan Today.
But many are mocking the decision.
“Are these supposed to be worn the normal way or pulled over the head for protection against coronavirus?” one commenter wrote on Japan Today’s website, as noted by the South China Morning Post.
“Sex at 2 meters could be an Olympic event in itself,” another commenter wrote on Facebook.
“Length has never been more important,” wrote another while sharing an article about the news.
Athletes won’t be required to be vaccinated or quarantine upon arrival in Tokyo, but they are required to test negative for the coronavirus before getting on a flight to Japan, according to the playbook. Some athletes may be tested again upon arrival, depending on where they’re traveling from.
The playbook also notes that participants may be screened and tested for COVID-19 throughout the Tokyo Games, which are scheduled to begin on July 23.
The Olympics’ organizing committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
The first Olympic condoms were given out at the Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988 in an attempt to prevent the spread of HIV, Time reported.