Aussie Olympians test out 'no-sex' beds as Matildas hit by disastrous mishap at Paris Games

Much has been said and written about the cardboard beds in the athletes' village at the Paris Olympics, with many describing them as 'anti-sex' beds because they can only hold one person. So Aussie tennis players Daria Saville and Ellen Perez decided to film a video of themselves testing them out and seeing how much weight they can hold.

Saville uploaded the video to social media on Sunday, showing her and Perez conducting a number of exercises on their beds. The tennis players can be seen doing resistance training, squat jumps, step ups, racquet smashing and volley practice - all on the top of their beds.

In the hilarious video, Saville also shows fans what it's like sleeping in the bed, while Perez does the 'worm' dance move and a cannon ball onto hers. The Aussies' video is a light-hearted take on what has become a serious issue at the Olympics.

The cardboard beds were first introduced at the Tokyo Games in 2021, and are designed to be ergonomic and environmentally-friendly. Unofficially, they were also thought to be a deterrent to athletes engaging in 'extra-curricular' activities in the village at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, as they wouldn't withstand the weight of two people on them.

We're well-and-truly past the pandemic, but the cardboard beds are back for another round in 2024. The athletes' village during the Olympics is always a hive of mingling and fraternising - particularly between single athletes keen to let their hair down after their events have wrapped up.

The amount of sex that goes on the village is no secret, and organisers have moved in recent years to provide athletes with as many condoms as possible. But questions have risen about whether or not the beds will help athletes sleep properly and provide them with the best chance to perform at their peak.

Aussie water polo player Tilly Kearns also uploaded a video complaining that her mattress was "rock solid". Kearns showed how the beds have two different sides depending on the firmness the athletes want, but she was already sleeping on the softer side.

Matildas hit by luggage mishap ahead of Paris Olympics

Meanwhile, the Matildas' campaign in Paris has gotten off to a rocky start after some of their luggage and equipment didn't arrive with them. The Aussie women's football team took a private jet to Paris from their training camp in Spain, but realised some of their bags had been left behind - including ones carrying medical supplies.

It meant team officials had to postpone a planned photo shoot the Matildas were scheduled to undertake in front of some of the world's press. The Matildas are the only Aussie team that travelled to Paris via private jet, with every other athlete going by commercial flights.

The rest of the Australian Olympic team’s gear was transported via a container ship, which collided with another boat near Gibraltar. But the Australian team’s chef de mission Anna Meares said the two incidents weren't related and hoped the Matildas would get their gear within the next 24 hours.

“That was nothing to do with the freight ship collision on the way over a few weeks ago,” Meares said. “Their flight was delayed 90 minutes. It was basically a loading issue on their charter flight. As a result of that loading issue, the bags didn’t actually meet with them when they landed in Marseilles from their flight from Spain. It didn’t affect their preparation, or their competition at all. And this will be rectified at this stage.”

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Meares said of the Matildas flying via private jet: “That’s a decision for Football Australia. They felt that it was the best, high performance model for them that they could do to bring them in from Spain to Marseilles. That is just the norm for them now. And it’s operating in normal capacity in an abnormal environment like the Olympic Games.”