Olympic Village beds, accommodations receive mixed reviews from Canadian athletes

Athlete beds have become a topic of conversation at the Paris Olympics.

A viral clip from Australian women's water polo player Matilda Kearns pointing out the discomfort of the cardboard beds, saying she "already had a massage to undo the damage" to her back.

Canadian athletes are giving mixed reviews to the beds, and accommodations as a whole, as they continue preparations at the global event.

"I typically prefer a firmer bed personally so the mattresses don't really bother me," said artistic gymnast Sam Zakutney. "The [air conditioning] units work great in the Canada House so we're not sweating our butts off trying to fall asleep.

"Maybe the beds are a little more firm than I would like them to be but that's nothing that's really inhibiting my rest or my recovery."

The cardboard beds, introduced at the Tokyo Games in 2021, returned this year to promote environmental friendliness.

Air conditioning units were not standard in the Olympic Village units. The Canadian Olympic Committee purchased them from the Olympic Organizing Committee for the athletes.

Canadian springboard diver Caeli McKay tested the stability of the cardboard beds by jumping on them and shared the approved results with fans on Instagram.

"It comes with separate individual little mattresses that are, dare I say, slightly firm," she said in the post. "So, praising my team manager, she brought us an extra pillow because we only got one and another bed cushion kind-of-cover thingy."

"Last night wasn't the comfiest night. I'm not a fan of firm beds."

Men's badminton player Brian Yang was fine with the beds, but had other reservations.

"I did notice that the shower pressure in the rooms is kind of weak," he said.

"I think the one main thing I've been hearing