The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics already set a world record weeks before the opening ceremony with the announcement that 110,000 condoms — the most ever for a Winter Olympics — will be provided to athletes.
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics already set a world record a week before the opening ceremony with the announcement that 110,000 condoms — the most ever for a Winter Olympics — will be provided to athletes.
AFP reported that the condoms are to be distributed free of charge before the opening ceremony. 100,000 condoms each were given out at the 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, though the former eventually needed an additional supply of 8,500 more.
Considering the fact that 2,925 athletes are set to descend on Pyeongchang, that would mean each individual has at his or her disposal 37.6 of the latex contraceptives. Each athlete could theoretically make use of two every day throughout the duration of the Winter Olympics.
Deposits of the free prophylactics will be situated in the Olympic Village, main press center, medical facilities and in lavatories.
Deposits of the free prophylactics will be situated in the Olympic Village, main press center, medical facilities and in lavatories. (Image: Yonhap)
The practice of handing out free condoms coincidentally began in South Korea at the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics. A total of 8,500 were doled out then, a comparatively paltry sum in hindsight.
Olympic condoms stole some of the spotlight after the conclusion of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, when it was revealed that their packaging was inscribed with the event’s official motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger”.
Despite the PyeongChang Olympic Organizing Committee’s historic generosity, the distribution of 110,000 condoms pales in comparison to the 450,000 made available at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
The company behind the distribution of the condoms said the move was made to prevent HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases.
On the South Korean web, the news has been met with a mixture of amusement, bewilderment and disgust.
Comments such as “Pyeongchang Winter Sex Olympics” and “why do the athletes and media personnel need this many condoms?” appeared on message boards with statements like “the free distribution of condoms is merely a part of the Olympic rules”.
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