U.S. gymnast Frederick Richard said he tried to do everything in his power to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
And that included shipping his own mattress to the Olympic Village.
“Everyone’s complaining about beds and stuff,” Richard said Wednesday. “I ordered my bed already, shipped it here. I had a comfy bed from the start.”
The beds in the Olympic Village − and, in particular, their cardboard frames − have once again became a talking point ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony. Since athletes started arriving in the village, many have taken to social media to show the cardboard construction to their fans, debunk theories about the beds being “anti-sex” and, most recently, complain about the comfort of the mattresses themselves.
“Already had a massage to undo the damage,” Australian water polo player Matilda Kearns wrote in one social media post.
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While some athletes said they haven’t had issues with the beds, Kearns is among several others who have complained about their firmness. Though the beds have adjustable firmness levels, she said in her first post that they were “rock hard” even on the softer side. Forty-eight hours later, she said, Australian officials had purchased mattress toppers and extra pillows for their athletes.
“I’m so grateful, because I was waking up every second hour. I actually thought about going on the floor,” Kearns said in a follow-up video.
That hasn’t been an issue for Richard, the U.S. Olympic trials champion and reigning world all-around bronze medalist. The 20-year-old gymnast said he made arrangements for his own mattress to be delivered to the village before he arrived.
Richard didn’t say how the mattress differed from those in the village. Although it was a bit of a chore to locate the mattress when it arrived, he said, he’s been relieved to be sleeping comfortably as complaints circulate from other athletes.
“I want to sleep in the room like it’s my own room, be comfortable,” Richard said. “You know, we’re at the Olympics. We’re at the biggest event. I want to live like a king over here. That’s basically my mindset, so I got the nice, comfy bed.”
A spokesperson for USA Gymnastics said Richard was the only member of the team to bring his own mattress to the Olympic Village, though the national governing body did announce last week that everyone on the U.S. Olympic gymnastics teams will have access to mattress toppers and bed cooling systems through a partnership with a company called BedJet.
The nighttime temperatures in the Olympic Village have also been a source of consternation for athletes leading up to the Games, after Paris 2024 organizers announced there would not be traditional air conditioning in the rooms. The move was supposed to be a step toward more sustainable Games, though some national Olympic committees − including the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee − responded by paying to have their own AC units brought in.
“Thank God they brought the ACs,” Asher Hong, another U.S. gymnast, said when asked about the four-bedroom, two-bathroom unit he is sharing with teammates in the village. “The still air is so hot. There’s no air circulation in there.”
All of this might seem somewhat trivial. But for athletes who are about to compete at one of the most important international competitions of their lives, getting quality sleep can make a significant difference.
“I’m a coach, so for me it’s fine if I get up a couple times in the night,” said Jess Graba, who coaches Suni Lee and is among the coaches and team personnel also staying in the Olympic Village.
Graba said he wouldn’t describe the beds as uncomfortable, but he does wish they had a bit more cushioning.
“(Richard) ordered a mattress and had it delivered to the village. And now we’re all re-evaluating our decision-making on that,” he said.
“We probably should’ve done like Fred.”
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why cardboard beds in Olympic Village are drawing athlete complaints
