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02/14 13:49 CST Olympic athletes promised fresh stocks of condoms on
Valentine's Day after villages run short
Olympic athletes promised fresh stocks of condoms on Valentine's Day after
villages run short
MILAN (AP) --- On Valentine's Day at the Milan Cortina Olympics, a renewed
supply of free condoms for the athlete villages was promised by the organizers
after going short during the week.
"We can confirm that condom supplies in the Olympic Villages were temporarily
depleted due to higher-than-anticipated demand," the Italian organizing
committee said in a statement Saturday. "Additional supplies are being
delivered and will be distributed across all villages between today and Monday."
Providing condoms for athletes has been a gift from organizers --- and a
constant fascination to the world --- for decades.
While 300,000 condoms were provided for more than 10,500 athletes at the 2024
Paris Summer Games, the original stock was much lower for these Winter Games.
"I think 10,000 have been used, 2,800 athletes --- you can go figure, as they
say," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Saturday. "It
clearly shows that Valentine's Day is in full swing in the village."
Reports of no condoms in week one of the games followed an absence of plush
toys of the official mascots, Milo and Tina, in the opening days. They proved
more popular than expected in the official Olympics merchandise stores.
Condoms are traditionally popular for Olympic athletes to take home from as "a
kind of gift" to friends, Alpine skier Mialitiana Clerc said Saturday.
"I'm not so shocked. I saw it in Beijing already," said Clerc, who also
competed for Madagascar four years ago at the Winter Games in China. "There
were some boxes with a lot of condoms at the entrance of every building where
we were staying at the village."
"Every day, everything was (gone)," she recalled about Beijing at an IOC news
conference Saturday to promote its scholarship program that helps hundreds of
athletes to train and qualify for the Olympics.
"I already know that a lot of people are using some condoms or just taking them
to give to their friends outside of the Olympics because it's a kind of gift
for them," Clerc said.
There should be no further shortage in Italy until the Winter Games closing
ceremony Feb. 22.
"They will be continuously replenished until the end of the games to ensure
continued availability," the local organizing committee said.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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