Olympics on Tinder

Winter Olympics get steamy as traffic on Tinder, PornHub skyrockets

MARTIN ROGERS  |  USA TODAY SPORTS

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – There is no shortage of statistics when it comes to the Winter Olympics, from split times, to world records to personal bests, and more analytics than you can shake a ski pole at.

Some are serious and illustrate the difference between success and failure. Others are, well, frivolous to say the least.

And so, as things began to wind down at these predominantly well-behaved Games came a pair of statistical shots from unexpected sources.


Tinder, that great facilitator of modern romance, has reported that the action has been heating up as many athletes from around the world look for some constructive activities to fill their downtime following the conclusion of their events.

Usage of Tinder in Pyeongchang has spiked 348 percent since the start of the Olympics, according to the company. Not surprising with so many fit and attractive athletes on hand.

“Every Olympics we hear that Tinder is ‘on fire’ in the Villages and we notice our usage increase significantly when people from around the world gather for an event,” a spokeswoman told Reuters.

Expect things to get even more fiery as the Games head towards their conclusion on Sunday. However, early in the Olympics, with competition on the slopes and half-pipes and rinks of Pyeongchang still paramount in the athletes’ minds, many were left looking for a different means of sexual entertainment.

PornHub, which provides a one-stop shop for online clips of sexual athleticism – not always gold medal-worthy performances, it should be noted – reported that the online action was spiking in the region of the Athlete’s Village.

Traffic to PornHub in the Gangwon-do area, where the bulk of the competitors in these Games are housed, had increased by 85 percent on Feb. 12, according to the website. The press release attributed the spike to "the influx of Olympic athletes, press and spectators."

“Dude, are you serious?” one United States male athlete responded to USA TODAY Sports when told the increased activity. “You want to talk about porn? Okay, well yeah, we're human and we have needs too, just like anyone else.”

The athletes interviewed for this part of the story requested anonymity because, well, there is no chance they would have spoken to us about this topic otherwise.

When quizzed about why pornographic assistance would be needed when the Village is reportedly a hotbed, literally, of inter-mingling, the response was to the point.

“Before competing, it is online stuff,” the male athlete said. “Afterwards is when it’s time for the real thing.”

PornHub is nothing if not detailed. They took a look at the most popular searches and found that “threesomes” were the most searched item on their site during the Games.

“And you’re surprised by that?” a female athlete laughed. “It makes perfect sense. For guys, they like being part of a team. For women, it is about efficiency. You’re trying to get as much as you can in the shortest time possible.”

Ultimately though, for an Olympian with competitive spirit the most important thing is getting the most authentic and successful result possible. Undoubtedly, the increased popularity of app-based dating has assisted the process in helping Olympians get to know each other.

“Use your phone,” luge silver medalist Chris Mazdzer told Cosmopolitan. “There’s so many applications it’s pretty easy. Bumble. Tinder. Easy.”