Winter Olympic village runs out of condoms after three days

Free condoms have been provided since 1988 Olympics as athletes in Italy have been 'promised more will arrive'

Just under 3,000 athletes are competing at the Winter Olympics, compared to around 10,500 in the Paris Games two years ago.

Free condoms for competitors at the Winter Olympics have run out within a record-breaking three days, according to La Stampa.

“The supplies ran out in just three days,” an anonymous athlete told the Italian newspaper. “They promised us more will arrive, but who knows when.”

It blamed the Olympic organisers, saying they had not been “particularly generous with the numbers”. 

“In Paris the athletes received 300,000 condoms — two per day each — but the numbers for these Winter Games were significantly lower: not even 10,000,” La Stampa’s report states.

Just under 3,000 athletes are competing at the Winter Olympics, compared to around 10,500 in the Paris Games two years ago.

Last week the governor of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, insisted the topic should not be a cause of embarrassment.

“Yes, we provide free condoms to athletes in the Olympic village,” he said in a social media post. “If this seems strange to some, they’re unaware of the established Olympic practice. It began in Seoul 1988 to raise awareness among athletes and young people about sexually transmitted disease prevention — a topic that shouldn’t cause embarrassment.” 

Mr Fontana also shared an Instagram post by the Spanish figure skater Olivia Smart, in which she showed her followers condoms stamped with the yellow Lombardy Region logo. “I found them,” she says in the clip, which has gone viral. “They have everything you need.”

@oliviasmartxox

Yes, there are OLYMPIC condoms. #olympics #milanocortina2026 #winterolympics

♬ sonido original - En Línea

There are plenty of other activities to keep athletes busy in the Olympic village, including a large gym, table football and air hockey games and even a piano. 

There are also free drinks machines, stacked with Coca-Cola and Innocent smoothies.

• The Guardian