Is a recyclable cardboard bed comfortable enough for an Olympian?

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The recyclable cardboard beds that will be helping athletes catch up on their beauty sleep during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have been revealed, in a presentation held by Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet, and Motokuni Takaoka, Airweave CEO, the company behind the innovative units.

The beds were initially created in 2021 for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The mattress is made up of three separate blocks - one to support the head and shoulders, the second to keep the back comfortable and then another to rest the legs.

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Athletes who used them at the Tokyo Olympics were able to customize their mattress to suit their morphology.

For Paris 2024, each athlete will be scanned and photographed on entering the Olympic Village. Takaoka explained that an Artificial Intelligence program will process the data to establish the best possible mattress combination for the athlete, depending on their height, weight and sport.

"At that time, we thought we had designed this carboard bed [strong enough to take the weight] of three or four people jumping on it [in joy], after winning a medal," said Takaoka.

"But during the Tokyo Olympics, I think more than 10 people jumped on it [in celebration] and it was on YouTube. So, we have now made it to be robust enough for [an additional] two people."

The 16,000 cardboard beds ordered for Paris 2024 from the Japanese company Airweave will be delivered between March and June 2024 to the Olympic Village.

These beds and mattresses will be used during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, before being donated to charities, Paris 2024 said.

Is a recyclable cardboard bed really comfortable enough for an Olympic athlete?

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