Condom crisis hits Winter Olympic Games in Milan on Valentine's Day

MILAN - Athletes at the Milano Cortina Games seem to have embraced Valentine’s week with their trademark Olympic intensity, racing through their free condom supply to leave dispensers empty before the big day itself.

Some 10,000 prophylactics were distributed across the city and mountain accommodation sites by organisers, continuing a longstanding Olympic practice aimed at promoting safe relationships among mostly young, healthy and energetic competitors living in close quarters.

By Saturday the stock had run out, however, with just over a week of the sporting bonanza still to go, adding Milan to a long list of Games where demand has comfortably outstripped supply, a now almost routine Olympic sub-plot.

"Clearly this shows Valentine's Day is in full swing at the village," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams told a press conference on Saturday. "Ten thousand have been used - 2,800 athletes - you can go figure, as they say."

"It is rule 62 of the Olympic Charter that we have to have a condoms story. Faster, higher, stronger, together," Adams joked.

Milano Cortina organisers later conceded stocks had been depleted by "higher-than-anticipated demand" but said they were in the process of re-stocking.

"Additional supplies are being delivered and will be distributed across all Villages between today and Monday," they said in a statement.

"They will be continuously replenished until the end of the Games to ensure continued availability."

While athletes are provided with free condoms at every Games, the rush in Milan has left even the athletes themselves stunned.

"I just saw that this morning. I was, like, shocked as everyone else," Mexican figure skater Donovan Carrillo said.

Mialitiana Clerc, an alpine skier representing Madagascar, said there was nothing left in her accommodation.

"There were a lot of boxes at the entrance of every building where we were staying and every day, everything had gone from the box," said Clerc. "I already know that a lot of people are using condoms, or giving them to their friends outside of the Olympics because it's a kind of gift for them."

While medals remain the official currency of success, the empty dispensers offer a quieter sign that the social side of the Games is thriving as well.

-Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Toby Davis/Reuters