Rio Olympics sets world record in condom handouts

The Rio Olympics has set a record already even before it opens.

"We will be distributing 450,000 condoms to the 10,500 athletes who will be participating in the Olympics," the Rio 2016 Committee said. "The distribution will begin when the Olympic village opens on July 24." The amount, 42 condoms per athlete, is three times more than those handed out during the 2012 London Olympics.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 100,000 condoms were handed out, compared with 130,000 at the 2004 Athens Olympics, 100,000 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

An official at the International Olympic Committee said that the massive condom distribution was a measure aimed at preventing the spread of the Zika virus during the Rio Games as sexual intercourse is one of the causes of Zika transmission.

Among the 450,000 condoms to be distributed at the Rio Olympics, 350,000 are for men. Asked whether too many condoms will be handed out, Lucas Dantas, a spokesman for the Rio 2016 Committee, said that would not be enough. "They can play an important role in the fight against AIDS," he said.

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