Olympics affection: Love wins gold at the Games

22 August 2016 - 10:29 By Byrony Gordon

There must be something in the water. That's what they've been saying about the Rio Olympics all along, isn't it?In the case of the diving pool, it was algae and in the waterways around Guanabara Bay, it has been anything from body parts to raw sewage. But after watching yet another ODA (Olympic Display of Affection), one could be tempted to think there is an aphrodisiac in the drinking water too.No sooner had the American Will Claye won silver in the triple jump than he had leaped to the stands to propose to his girlfriend, the hurdler Queen Harrison.Then there was Qin Kai, a Chinese diver who had won bronze in the Games, who got down on one knee as He Zi stepped off the podium after winning silver in the women's 3m springboard final.Charlotte Dujardin's big moment winning gold in dressage was made even bigger when she spotted her boyfriend in the stands holding up a placard that read: "Can we get married now?""He has made it so public that now I am certainly going to do it," Dujardin said rather unromantically afterwards - but then, wouldn't you be a bit peeved if your boyfriend took all the attention away from you during your special moment?There have been rather less salubrious tales from the Olympics. We all know about the thousands of condoms that are handed out in the village, and this summer, a picture has gone viral of Eric, the man whose job it is to hand out contraception to the more active athletes. Apparently, 450000 prophylactics made their way to the Olympic village - on average, about 42 condoms an athlete.And let us not forget Tinder, which has seen a 129% increase in usage in Rio during the Olympics. Even Ryan Lochte is on it. Also on the app: Ingrid Oliveira, who hit the headlines not for her incredible prowess in the pool, but out of it.According to reports, Oliveira kicked her teammate Giovanna Pedrosa out of the room so she could have "a marathon sex session" with fellow countryman and canoeist Pedro Concalves the night before they were due to dive. The girls are now not talking, after coming last in their competition.It probably shouldn't be a surprise that so many Olympians are at it - exercise releases endorphins, after all, and what could possibly be more attractive than six foot something of rippling muscle draped in gold medals?Plus, if you're an athlete whose job involves training six days a week from the crack of dawn until sundown, you're going to want to let loose a bit.And who better to understand the demands of being an Olympian than another Olympian?According to a recent study, most people meet their significant others at a place of work.Yes, their offices may have podiums instead of photocopiers and pools instead of watercoolers, but other than that, who's counting? Do not tell me you wouldn't want to have sex with your colleagues if your colleagues all looked like springboard divers.But what happens if you and your significant other don't do so well? Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus won bronze in the 50m freestyle while her fiancé Yauhen Tsurkin did rather less impressively."I had a great Olympics and he did not swim so good," she said. "But I love him anyway, even if he could not swim at all." Awww. Olympic swimmer or not, ain't love grand? - © The Daily Telegraph..

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