It turns out the world’s greatest athletes might not get the best night’s sleep in the Olympic Village’s cardboard beds.
It’s no shock that Olympians require a ton of rest and recovery — especially before competing. However, according to Team USA’s Olympic Village Director Daniel Smith, their beds at the Games are “hard as a rock.”
Smith spoke with PEOPLE ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, admitting that the Olympic Village’s beds are “pretty stiff.” However, he added that athletes can customize their mattresses if need be.
“There’s a space here in the Paris 2024 Village where they give you education on the mattresses,” he told PEOPLE. Apparently, the athletes can tailor their mattresses to suit their sleeping preferences or “sleep types.”
“Each side has a different comfort level based on your preference of firmness,” Smith said. “Based on all these different ways that you can maneuver the mattress, you can make it more firm or less firm!”
Olympics Provide Mattress Covers for ‘Hard as a Rock’ Beds
While these beds are certainly not a top pick for comfort, Team USA’s policies apparently include “covering the costs for any mattress toppers,” in case an athlete wants extra support.
However, Smith didn’t give more credit than necessary to these cardboard beds.
“[Each bed is] literally cardboard that is pieced together.” Not only that, but “they also come apart in different sections” and feature “bed extensions on them that are also cardboard.”
Still, there does tend to be “one exception” to the cardboard beds, according to Smith.
“[The exception is] for our Track and Field throwers,” he said. “USA Track and Field ships in larger beds specifically for them… the athletes, just their size, they’re big individuals, so they ship in… just for comfort.”
So, why the cardboard beds in the first place? It’s all apparently an attempt to host the “greenest-ever Games.”
According to the Olympics TikTok video, the “sustainable beds are 100% made in France and will be fully recycled in France after the Games.”