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Why Canada's Olympic Hockey Team Is Staying in Hotel Instead of Olympic Village
Plenty of athletes are walking away with medals but they’re not the only ones scoring at the 2026 Olympics.
Though the Milano Cortina Winter Games has followed the tradition of providing free condoms to athletes staying in the Olympic Village, it seems this year there’s been a bit of a shortage. Which is to say, the Olympic Villages ran through their condom supplies quite swiftly.
“The supplies ran out in just three days," one athlete, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Italian outlet La Stampa. "They promised us more will arrive, but who knows when.”
And it seems Olympic officials have an answer to that when.
“We can confirm that condom supplies in the Olympic Villages were temporarily depleted due to higher-than-anticipated demand,” a member of the Milano Cortina 2026 communications team told E! News in a Feb. 14 statement. “Additional supplies are being delivered and will be distributed across all Villages between today and Monday. They will be continuously replenished until the end of the Games to ensure continued availability.”
Before the condom supply diminished, Spanish skater Olivia Smart—in a video subsequently reshared by Lombardy president Attilio Fontana—detailed her journey in the Village to finding the contraceptives.
Olivia Smart/TikTok
“I found them,” she said in the Feb. 6 TikTok, which features a close-up look at the 2026 Olympic packaging. “They have everything you need.”
And that, according to Fontana, whose region counts Milan as its capital, was by design.
“Yes, we provide free condoms to athletes in the Olympic village,” he said in a Feb. 8 Facebook post translated from Italian, per The Athletic, before highlighting the practice’s history. “If this seems strange to some, they’re unaware of the established Olympic practice. It began in Seoul 1988 to raise awareness among athletes and young people about sexually transmitted disease prevention—a topic that shouldn’t cause embarrassment.”
And as a host of the games—alongside the Veneto city of Cortina d'Ampezzo—they felt the responsibility to provide athletes with all they needed for a healthy stay. As he put it, “Health comes first: Concrete prevention and common sense.”
Although not all athletes are facing the same Olympic experiences—specifically the few teams who opted out of staying in the Village like Canada’s Men’s Hockey Team.
Photo by Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images
“I don’t think we’re doing it as an insult or anything like that,” goaltender Logan Thompson admitted SportsNet in an interview published Feb. 9. “We want to win gold, and we want to give ourselves the best opportunity to do so.”
But while they may not be sleeping in the infamous bunks, the team is firmly embracing Olympics traditions.
“You definitely want to get that experience,” he stressed. “It’s cool to meet other athletes and I want to be able to do that as well as see other Olympic events.”
For a look at some candid moments during the 2026 Olympics games, keep reading...
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Slip Up
U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin, also known as "Quad God," takes an uncharacteristic fall during the men's single free skating competition, ultimately landing him in eighth place.
Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty Images
Head in the Game
German bobsledder Laura Nolte gears up before training for the monobob, the single-person bobsleigh event for women.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Victory Selfie
Following the women’s snowboard halfpipe competition, Korean snowboarder Gaon Choi poses for picture with Team USA's Chloe Kim and Mitsuki Ono of Japan taken using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Olympic Edition.
Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images
From One Olympian to Another
Georgian figure skater Nika Egadze snaps a photo with Simone Biles, the most-decorated gymnast in Olympic history, during the men's singles figure skating competition.
Daniel Kopatsch/VOIGT/Getty Images
You're on Candid Camera
A cameraman films U.S. skiers Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin hugging after the second run of the women's team combined salom event.
Odd ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images
A Small Gift
French biathlete Lou Jeanmonnot has some fun with plushies of Milan-Cortina Olympics mascots Milo and Tina, which she received as part of winning the silver medal in the women's biathlon 15km individual event.
Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Thinking of Home
Skier Dmytro Shepiuk uses a sticky note to send love to his fellow Ukranians after finishing the men's super-G event.
WANG Zhao/AFP via Getty Images
Scream and Shout
Japan's Kaori Sakamoto is surprised by her score in the women's singles free skating team event.
JASPER JACOBS/BELGA MAG/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
All the Emotions
Dutch speedskater Jutta Leerdam wipes tears from her eyes after learning she set an Olympic record in the women’s 1,000-meter race.
Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Big Air
China's Eileen Gu competes in the women's freestyle slopestyle—which earned her a silver medal.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
With Him Always
U.S. skater Maxim Naumov holds a photo of his late parents close after competing in the men's single skating short program.
Hector Vivas/Getty Images
Twists and Turns
A composite image shows off the many tricks seen in the women's freestyle slopestyle.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Pierogi Power
Polish figure skater Ekaterina Kurakova holds up a plushie of a pierogi—widely considered to be Poland's national food—as she celebrates with her teammates during the women's single skating short program.
Tom Weller/Getty Images
It's a Bird, It's a Plane
No, it's Team Austria's ski jumper Julia Muehlbacher.
Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty Images
Double Trouble
Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp of Austria zoom by during the luge women's doubles.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Say Cheese!
The winners of the figure skating team event snap a selfie with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Olympic Edition while on the podium.
Daniel Kopatsch/VOIGT/GettyImages
Never Give Up
U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn looks determined as she attends a training session days after rupturing her ACL in a crash.
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Ice to See You
Alysa Liu of United States performs the Biellmann spin during the women's single skating short program event.
Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images
So Close
Team Great Britain's Jennifer Dodds has a nail-biting reaction to the curling mixed doubles round robin match against South Korea.
Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images
Curl It Like It's Hot
Snoop Dogg, serving as an Olympics correspondent for NBC, tries his hand at curling at a practice.
Tim Clayton/Getty Images
In Sync
U.S. figure skaters and real-life couple Evan Bates and Madison Chock are a perfect match while performing their rhythm ice dance routine.
Federico Manoni/NurPhoto via Getty Images
On the B-rink of History
Laila Edwards, the first Black woman representing the U.S. in Olympic hockey, faces off against Czech player Sara Cajanova during the United States vs. Czech Republic game.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Friendship Knows No Borders
Australian snowboarder Valentino Guseli shares a hug with Team Czechia's Jakub Hrones during the men's snowboard big air qualifiers.
Javier SORIANO / AFP via Getty Images
Photo Finish
Bulgarian ski jumper Vladimir Zografski hits the brakes during a training session.
Al Bello/Getty Images
Swept Away With Joy
American curler Korey Dropkin lets out a victorious shout after his team defeats Switzerland in a mixed doubles round bobin match.
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