The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics have encountered an unexpected logistical challenge that has nothing to do with ice rink temperatures or snow conditions: the athletes’ village has completely exhausted its supply of free condoms within the first three days of the Games.
Organisers had initially stocked approximately 10,000 condoms for the nearly 3,000 athletes competing in northern Italy, but demand far exceeded expectations, leaving officials scrambling to secure additional shipments.
“The supplies sold out in just three days. They promised us more will arrive but who knows when,” an anonymous athlete told the Italian newspaper La Stampa, capturing the frustration spreading through the village corridors.
The shortage stands in stark contrast to recent Olympic traditions. At the Paris 2024 Summer Games, organisers distributed approximately 300,000 condoms to 10,500 athletes, while some previous Summer Games have provided as many as 300,000.
The Winter Games allocation of just 10,000 units for a smaller athlete population now appears to have been a significant miscalculation.
Lombardy’s regional governor, Attilio Fontana, moved quickly to normalise the situation and defend the long-standing practice of contraceptive distribution at Olympic venues.
“Yes, we provide free condoms to athletes in the Olympic village,” Fontana wrote on social media. “If this seems strange to some, they’re unaware of the established Olympic practice. It began in Seoul 1988 to raise awareness among athletes and young people about sexually transmitted disease prevention — a topic that shouldn’t cause embarrassment”.
The governor also shared a lighthearted Instagram post from Spanish figure skater Olivia Smart, who had documented the availability of the limited-edition condoms stamped with the yellow Lombardy Region logo. “I found them,” Smart said in her viral video, displaying the contraceptives. “They have everything you need”.
The athletes’ village in Cortina d’Ampezzo houses approximately 2,900 competitors in modular residential units with shared communal areas.
Despite the installation of so-called “anti-sex” cardboard beds similar to those used in previous Games, designed to reduce intimate activity, the rapid depletion of supplies suggests athletes have found ways to maintain the Olympic Village’s famously social atmosphere.
One former Olympic gold medallist, speaking anonymously to CNN in 2012, offered perspective on the phenomenon. “Anyone who wants to be naive and say they don’t know what’s going on in the village are lying to themselves,” the former champion said.
“They know, the officials know, even the media. It’s not a secret, everyone knows! It’s all part of the Olympic spirit. The International Olympic Committee wouldn’t say that, but it is, you can’t shy away from it”.
Organisers have confirmed that fresh supplies will be distributed throughout the remainder of the Games, which run until February 22, though no specific timeline for replenishment has been announced. The message displayed to athletes upon their arrival in Milan reminded them: “Health first: prevention and common sense”.
Some speculation on social media platforms, including Reddit, suggests that athletes may be taking the branded condoms home as souvenirs rather than using them, which could partially explain the extraordinary demand.
Whatever the reason, the shortage has already become one of the most talked-about stories of the 2026 Winter Games.
The tradition of providing free condoms at Olympic venues began at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games as an AIDS awareness initiative and has continued ever since, becoming an established, if occasionally headline-grabbing, aspect of international athletic competition.