Athletes at the Milano Cortina Games have embraced Valentine’s week with Olympic intensity, swiftly depleting their entire supply of 10,000 free condoms. Distributed by organisers, the stock was exhausted by Saturday, with over a week of the event still to run.
The provision of free condoms is a longstanding Olympic tradition, promoting safe relationships among young, healthy competitors in close quarters. Milan now joins a list of Games where demand has outstripped supply, a recurring subplot.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams quipped at a press conference on Saturday: “Clearly this shows Valentine’s Day is in full swing at the village.”
He added, “Ten thousand have been used – 2,800 athletes – you can go figure, as they say,” before joking, “It is rule 62 of the Olympic Charter that we have to have a condoms story. Faster, higher, stronger, together.”
Athletes themselves expressed surprise. Mexican figure skater Donovan Carrillo remarked, “I just saw that this morning. I was, like, shocked as everyone else.” Madagascar’s alpine skier Mialitiana Clerc confirmed her accommodation had no stock left.
“There were a lot of boxes at the entrance of every building where we were staying and every day, everything had gone from the box,” Clerc explained, adding, “I already know that a lot of people are using condoms, or giving them to their friends outside of the Olympics because it’s a kind of gift for them.”
While medals are the official currency of success, the empty dispensers offer a quieter sign that the social side of the Games is thriving.
The Commonwealth Games 2022, which was held in Birmingham, handed out no fewer than 150,000 condoms to competitors.
“We have met with the Commonwealth Games organising committee round contraception and the signposting to services and what we have found is predominantly, it’s for the athletes and the team entourages where contraception is required,” said Birmingham council’s commissioning manager for adult public health, Dr Karl Beese.
“There was an expectation of 50,000 condoms across the three Commonwealth Games sites, so 150,000 in total.
“So there won’t be any issues in terms of supply and we are due to meet in the very near future with Pam Venning – who is the chief medical officer in charge of the Commonwealth Games from that side of it.
“So that is all being worked on but I must admit when they say ‘can we have 150,000 condoms?’ it makes you realise the extent of it.”
During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the IOC handed out just 150,000 free condoms but politely asked the athletes to refrain from using them as the games were subjected to strict Covid-19 protocols.
Condoms have been distributed as tradition since 1988 in Seoul in order to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS.
