The explanation is simpler than many think.

Besides the tragic deaths happening near the zone where the 2026 Winter Olympic Games are taking place, there are two major issues inside the Olympic village. The issue with the medals raised eyebrows among athletes last week.

Additionally, organizers planned to provide 300,000 condoms for athletes living in the village. However, only 10,000 arrived in Italy. One athlete said the supplies ran out in just three days. The organization promised to give them more, but the date was unknown.

Ever since 1988, Olympic organizers have made sure to provide athletes with free condoms. They only stopped during the 2020 Tokyo Games due to the COVID-19 rules. It seems that, contrary to what many think, Olympic athletes aren’t the ones using the condoms.

Former Olympian Admits To Taking Thousands Of Condoms As Souvenirs Amid Winter Olympic Games’ Shortage

Summer Olympics Reveals Update On Inclusion Of Mixed-Gender EventsOlympics logo (Photo Via Imagn Images)
After 10,000 contraceptives were wiped clean after just three days, many started looking for answers. 10,000 units for 3,000 athletes gone after 72 hours equals about three condoms per day per athlete. It might not be as easy, though, as former Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon explained what he and many others did during their Olympic experiences.

Rippon competed for the U.S. in the 2020 PyeongChang Games, winning bronze in the figure skating event. During a Q&A session with NBC, Rippon explained why the Winter Olympic condoms disappeared so fast.

“If you were wondering where 3,000 of the condoms went from the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, I took them,” he said. “I wanted to know, where are all these condoms? I did eventually find them in the medical tent. In my mind, it was this lavish experience, but it was just a basket filled with condoms that said in Korean, ‘generic condom.’ No Olympic rings. No fanfare. No frills.

“How do the athletes go through so many? I’ll tell you how I went through so many. I took that basket of condoms, and I opened my backpack, and I shoved maybe 3,000 of them in my backpack. I gave those to my friends as souvenirs.”


Alpine skier Mialitiana Clerc (via CBS News) said something similar to Rippon, noting that athletes used to take entire baskets to give out the condoms as souvenirs back home.