Paris 2024 Olympic Games – Artistic Gymnastics – Men’s Qualification – Division 2 – Bercy Arena, Paris, France – July 27, 2024. Daiki Hashimoto, Kazuma Kaya, Shinnosuke Oka, Takaaki Sugino and Wataru Tanigawa of Japan celebrate after the qualification.
16:26 JST, July 28, 2024
PARIS (Reuters) – Much has been made of the sturdiness of the cardboard beds in the Olympic Village, but one of them failed to withstand the test of Japanese gymnast Shinnosuke Oka.
Oka, who put in a strong performance on the first day of the Paris Olympics in the men’s qualifying events on Saturday, said a “water leak” from the bath had caused damage to the cardboard frame of his bed, forcing him to seek a swap.
“The cardboard collapsed from a water leak, from, uh, bath water,” the 20-year-old Olympian, who was competing in the Olympics for the first time, said shyly, with a shy smile.
Oka said he noticed himself slowly sinking into the bed as he slept, and then realized the frame was crooked.
“It kind of messed up my back a little bit. Not enough to affect my performance or anything, but I thought, ‘I probably don’t want to sleep like that the rest of the time.'”
Paris 2024 Olympic Games – Artistic Gymnastics – Men’s Qualification – Division 2 – Bercy Arena, Paris, France – July 27, 2024. Shinnosuke Oka of Japan in action on pommel horse.
The cardboard bed frame was introduced at the Tokyo 2020 Games for reasons of sustainability – a central theme for the organisers of Paris 2024. The mattresses are made from the same material as fishing nets and are manufactured by Japanese brand Airweave.
All bedding from the Olympic Village will be donated to the French army, the Paris Opera ballet school and other local organizations after the Games.
