Good thing there’s no sumo wrestling at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The bed frames in Athletes Village at this year’s games will be made of cardboard.
Sturdy cardboard, according to the Associated Press.
“Those beds can stand up to 200 kilograms,” Takashi Kitajima, the general manager of Athletes Village, said through an interpreter.
That’s about 440 pounds. And surely no competitor weighs that much.
“They are stronger than wooden beds,” Kitajima boasted.
Probably not strong enough, though, to withstand a wild post-medal-ceremony celebration.
“Of course, wood and cardboard would each break if you jumped on them,” he said.
The single bed frames (which look like something you’d find in an eco-friendly dorm room) will be recycled into paper products after this summer’s event. Slim mattresses made of polyethylene materials, meanwhile, are destined for a second life as converted plastic.
Single bed frames will be recycled into paper products after the games; mattress components are to be turned into plastics (via Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)
“The organizing committee was thinking about recyclable items, and the bed was one of the ideas,” Kitajima said, crediting Japanese textile manufacturer and Olympic sponsor Airweave Inc. for their creation.
Still under construction alongside Tokyo Bay, Athletes Village features 18,000 beds in 21 apartment towers.
The ad hoc neighborhood, constructed specifically to house Olympic challengers for three weeks, will also be recycled—into local housing.
Following the summer sports fanfare, folks can buy or rent units, which are expected to start at 54 million yen ($492,000), and sell for upwards of four times that much, the AP reported.
Tokyo’s sustainable efforts extend beyond sleeping arrangements.
Olympic officials have opted for a torch made of aluminum waste, podiums built from recycled household and marine plastic waste, and electricity derived from renewable sources, the BBC noted.
The 2020 Olympic Games run between July 24 and Aug. 9, followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6.
American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos protest racial discrimination during an award ceremony at the 1968 Mexican Olympic Games (via Angelo Cozzi/Mondadori/Getty Images)
Don’t expect to see any athletes taking a knee or raising a hand in political protest, though: The International Olympic Committee this week released guidelines outlining what actions contenders can and can not take this summer.
That includes displaying any political messaging such as signs and armbands, making gestures of political nature, and refusing to follow Ceremonies protocol.
“There is a need to respect other athletes and their moment of glory, and not to draw attention away from that in any way,” the IOC said. “With demonstrations on the field of play, at the Olympic Village, or during the official ceremonies, the dignity of the competition or the ceremony in question is destroyed for all the athletes concerned.”
Save it for press conferences, team meetings, or social media.
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