Do sporting intercourse bans work?
In the city of love Olympics chiefs are encouraging athletes to get intimate by handing out free lubricant, 200,000 condoms and providing an STI clinic.
This runs counter to some other sporting events, where intimate liaisons have been forbidden in a bid to boost athletic performance.
So-called sex bans for athletes have been around for thousands of years, but the actual science behind them is dubious.
For example, the ancient Greeks believed semen contained a divine energy, and that ejaculating would deplete a man of his energy.
More recently it has been suggested that sex drains testosterone from the body, makes competitors less aggressive, weakens their muscles or renders them exhausted.
But, while the science is far from settled, there is no hard proof sex significantly reduces sporting performance — and, in fact, there is some that indicates a tryst before an event may actually improve results.
Free condoms are being handed out to athletes at the Paris Olympics
Sachets of sexual lubricant are also being dished out to randy sportspeople in the City of Lights
Condoms were also available free of charge at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil
Regardless of the scientific debate, dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge have seen a huge surge in users around the Olympic village.
Fortunately, this ‘free love’ policy is unlikely to affect the outcome of any event, according to experts.
A review of studies in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine in 2000 noted that little research has been done on the subject but suggested that sex affects people differently.
‘The performance of some people will improve with sex the night before competition and the performance of others will be hindered,’ the Canadian researchers said, adding that it wouldn’t have a huge impact either way.
They said the long-standing theory that athletes should abstain from sex before competitions is a ‘myth’ and may stem from a mistaken belief that ‘ejaculation draws testosterone from the body’.
Exhaustion caused by sex is unlikely to be a factor because, they pointed out, ‘normal sexual intercourse between married partners expends only 25–50 calories, the energy equivalent of walking up two flights of stairs’.
In 1995, a small study by the American Society of Exercise Physiologists tested 11 athletes on a treadmill, once before sex and again 12 hours after it, and compared their performance.
The researchers found a bout of lovemaking made no difference to their aerobic power, oxygen pulse, heart rate or blood pressure.
Lead researcher Tommy Boone, writing in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, said: ‘The data suggest that it is justified to dismiss the point of view that sexual intercourse decreases maximal exercise performance.’
Cardboard beds, introduced at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, have returned to the Paris Games. They were rumoured to be ‘anti-sex’, supposedly being too weak to hold two people, though organisers have denied this
British swimming champion Tom Daley tested out his cardboard bed on social media and found it was strong enough to support vigorous jumping
Speaking about forcing athletes to abstain from sexual activity, he added: ‘The rationale for such a policy appears to be related to the hypothesis that sexual intercourse decreases the athletes’ ability to perform efficiently or maximally.
‘Very likely, the restrictions placed on athletes have little to do with the athletes’ physiological ability to sustain a exercise intensity or perform maximally.’
In 2016, scientists in Florence, Italy, reviewed all the available evidence and concluded that athletes should be allowed to get it on.
‘Abstaining from sexual activity before athletic competition is a controversial topic in the world of sport,’ wrote the lead author Laura Stefani, a professor of sports medicine.
‘We show no robust scientific evidence to indicate that sexual activity has a negative effect upon athletic results.’
The researchers had sifted through hundreds of studies with the potential to provide evidence, however big or small, on the impact of sexual activity on sporting performance.
One of these found the strength of female athletes did not differ if they had sex the night before. Another actually observed a beneficial effect on marathon runners’ performance.
The Olympic rings are seen on the Eiffel Tower, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Paris
Writing in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, Dr Stefani added: ‘We clearly show that this topic has not been well investigated and only anecdotal stories have been reported.
‘In fact, unless it takes place less than two hours before, the evidence actually suggests sexual activity may have a beneficial effect on sports performance.’
However, many sportspeople continue to abstain from pre-competition lovemaking, either through choice or demand from a trainer or coach.
Gareth Southgate reportedly banned England footballers from sex before matches during big competitions, though the Three Lions failed to win anything under him.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola also enforces a strict rule that players must not have sex after midnight.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, England manager Glenn Hoddle banned players from having sex for the entirety of the tournament — but they were knocked out in the second round regardless.
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) believes sex improves his game, while boxer Carl Froch (right) did not make love for three months before knocking out George Groves in 2014
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali (left) would abstain from sex for six weeks before a fight, while Man Utd icon George Best (right) swore by a bit of nookie
Football legend Pele believed in the rejuvenating effects of an intimate liaison before a big game
And during the 2010 World Cup, England manager Fabio Capello banned players from sex because he believed it would be a distraction.
But in contrast, some of football’s biggest names have said sex the night before a big game improves their performance.
These include Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazilian legend Pele and Manchester United icon George Best.
Many boxers believe sex has a damaging effect. Muhammad Ali would abstain for six weeks before a fight, and former British champion Carl Froch did not have sex for three months before knocking out George Groves in their world title fight in 2014.
Asked by Conan O’Brien in 2015 whether he abstained from sex before fights, Irish MMA star Conor McGregor said: ‘That is most certainly a superstition that I do not abide by. I definitely have as much sex as possible.’
In the classic movie Rocky, the eponymous boxer’s trainer Mickey warned him: ‘Women weaken legs.’
Other, more real-world examples, have shown mixed beliefs about sex and athleticism.
Marty Liquori, formerly one the world’s best 5,000-meter runners, once declared: ‘Sex makes you happy, and happy people don’t run a 3:47 mile.’
Earlier this year, it was reported that 15-time major golf champion Tiger Woods had cut out sex in the run-up to the Masters, which he later lost.
American baseball legend Casey Stengel, who managed the New York Yankees throughout the 1950s, famously quipped: ‘Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It’s staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in.’
The policy of banning athletes from sex was backed by some of history’s greatest thinkers. Greek philosopher Plato wrote in 444BC: ‘Olympic competitors before races should avoid sexual intimacy.’
Thankfully for randy Olympians in Paris, things have moved on.
