A former Olympian has explained just why athletes at the games have so much sex

But in Paris, things will be back to normal, meaning athletes will be able mingle and socialise to their heart's content.

And when you stick thousands of athletes at the peak of physical fitness into a village together, you can work out what's going to happen.

Yes, over the years, the athletes village at each Olympics has garnered a reputation for being a hotbed of hanky panky.

Condoms have been handed out at Olympic games since the 1980s, and at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, it was reported that a staggering 450,000 were provided, which worked out at more than 40 condoms per athlete.

Back in July 2021, former Olympian Susen Tiedtke spoke to Bild about just why competitors at the games can't keep their hands off each other.

The former long jumper said that sex at the Olympics is "inevitable no matter what," and not just because of physical attraction.

The stresses and thrills of competing and winning medals kick an athletes hormones and endorphins into overdrive, leaving them with plenty of energy to release.

She told the publication: “The athletes are at their physical peak at the Olympics. When the competition is over, they want to release their energy.”

During her career, Tiedtke recalled that coaches said sex before competing wasn’t a good idea because “when you have sex, the body first has to recharge itself energetically.”

But once an athlete was done competing, many had sex, sometimes into the early hours of the morning, she claimed.

She said: “After the competition, however, roommates were considerate if you needed the room for yourself... You always heard the ‘party’ of the others, sometimes you could hardly sleep.

“There is one party after another, then alcohol comes into play. It happens that people have sex and there are enough people who strive for that.”

Sex expert and relationship therapist Tammy Nelson said: “With the right amount of anticipation, adrenaline and dopamine can suppress stress and even decrease negative thoughts and feelings of guilt and stress.

“It may contribute to a heightened awareness of our feelings and can intensify our sexual desire."

She explained that hormones like serotonin, epinephrine and dopamine influence "sex drive and sexual arousal."

Serotonin is released when you feel pleased or accomplished, whilst dopamine is known as the 'feel-good' hormone, and is almost like your brains reward system.

So most of us can only imagine how much your brain would be flooded with these after winning gold or something.

Nelso also explained how the "sexual variety" of the athletes village plays a role, saying this can "increase the releases of adrenaline, dopamine and other chemicals that contribute to thrill and adventure and may, for some, make the pursuit of sex more rewarding."