American sprint queen Gabby Thomas has revealed how the cardboard beds which, were slammed by athletes at the Paris 2024 Games, made her stay at the Olympics Village tough.
Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas has revealed her dislike of the much-maligned Paris Olympics cardboard beds, which were nicknamed 'anti-sex beds.'
Many athletes slammed the beds, terming them uncomfortable, and Thomas has also come out to slam them for making her two-weeks stay at the Olympics Village difficult.
While speaking to Vogue Magazine upon returning home from her successful Olympics, Thomas shared some of the things she will miss and those she won’t from the Village and the beds were among those she disliked.
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“One thing I will miss about the Olympics Village are the chocolate muffins. I will give it 9.9 and the only reason is not higher is they were hard to get,” said Thomas.
“One thing I won’t miss from the Olympics Village are the cardboard beds, my back was hurting.”
The cardboard beds were made by Japanese mattress manufacturer Airweave with frames made of cardboard, to make them easier to recycle at the end of the Games, according to Olympics organisers.
However, several athletes voiced their displeasure when they started checking into the Village for the Games and even during their stay.
Thomas one of the few Olympians who left Paris with three gold medals after victory in 200m, 4x100m as well as 4x400m relays and has ranked those achievements higher than anything else she has accomplished in her career.
“Sydney [McLaughlin-Levrone] and I for the 4x400m relay we didn’t practice at all,” she revealed about her 4x400m relay team-mate whom she exchanged the baton with.
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“For the relays, we don’t train together we have a very short window of time to practice each race.
“My three gold medals probably trumps everything else that I have done but the work that I do at the clinic is really fulfilling,” said Thomas, who works as a volumeter at a health clinic in Austin, Texas.