Free Condoms in Youth Olympic Athlete Village... Parental Groups Protest Despite IOC Explanation

Olympic Organizing Committee "Condoms Provided for Athletes' Safety"
Parents' Group "Damages Olympic Spirit" Strong Backlash

The 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee is providing free condoms to participating athletes, sparking strong concerns from a parents' group. The organizing committee stated that the medical team secured 3,000 condoms, placing 2,500 at the Gangneung-Wonju National University Athletes' Village and 500 at the Jeongseon High1 Athletes' Village medical office, allowing athletes to take them as needed.

The event, which opened on the 19th, features 1,802 athletes aged 14 to 18 from 78 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) worldwide. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) explained, "Youth athletes, like adult athletes, should have safe sexual lives, which is why condoms are being distributed."

The Olympic organizing committee announced that the medical team secured 3,000 condoms, placing 2,500 at the Gangneung-Wonju National University athlete village and 500 in the medical office at the Jeongseon High1 athlete village, allowing athletes to take them as needed.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In response to this announcement, the National Parents' Association Coalition issued a statement on the 23rd condemning the distribution of condoms at the Youth Olympics, saying, "The Youth Olympics should be a venue for fostering healthy bodies and sound minds, and distributing condoms undermines the Olympic spirit." They added, "It is highly inappropriate for the IOC to justify handing out condoms to curious teenagers with such a flimsy excuse, and if this continues, the Youth Olympics should be abolished."

Regardless of the claims by this group, the distribution of condoms at the Olympics is not an unfamiliar sight. The first Olympics to distribute condoms was the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and since then, condom distribution has become an Olympic tradition. In the 1990s, concerns about AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) led to a significant increase in the number of condoms distributed during the Games. At the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics and Barcelona Olympics, 30,000 and 90,000 condoms were distributed respectively, and 40,000 at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics.

Condoms Serve Not Only Safe Sex Purposes but Also as 'Gifts'

The Olympics with the highest number of condoms distributed in history was the 2016 Rio Olympics. The organizing committee installed several condom vending machines in the athletes' village and distributed 450,000 condoms. With 10,903 athletes participating, this amounts to about 42 condoms per athlete. This event also marked the first time female condoms were provided alongside male condoms.

The large distribution at the Rio Olympics was reportedly due to the outbreak of the Zika virus in South America, which causes microcephaly in newborns. Experts concerned about the risks of the Zika virus called for postponing the Games, and some athletes refused to participate. Subsequently, the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics distributed 110,000 condoms, the highest number ever for a Winter Olympics.

At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, a record 110,000 condoms were distributed, the highest number in Winter Olympic history.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, 160,000 condoms were distributed. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes were prohibited from light physical contact such as handshakes and high-fives. Olympic athletes sometimes use condoms in unexpected emergency situations. Jessica Fox of Australia, who won gold and bronze medals in women's canoe and kayak events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, posted a video on her TikTok account showing how she used a condom to make an emergency repair on her kayak. She applied carbon fiber resin to the damaged front of the kayak and sealed it with a condom.

Condoms placed in the Olympic athletes' village are intended not only for safe sexual activity during the Games but also as 'gifts' for athletes to take home and share with acquaintances after the event. Above all, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) maintains the position that condoms should be provided not only at the Olympics for adult athletes but also at the Youth Olympics for participants.