Performance enhancement: Rio athletes improve hook-up game, with Tinder use surging at Olympic Village

2-MIN READ2-MIN

A banner of the Slovenia team hangs on the top of a building of the Olympic Village, where many athletes are said to be ‘feeling the love’ thanks to mobile dating apps. Photo: AP

Published: 12:30pm, 10 Aug 2016Updated: 10:47pm, 10 Aug 2016

Away from the games, some Olympians are looking for a different kind of match.

Athletes increasingly are using apps like Tinder as they look to have fun and escape the pressures of competition inside the Olympic Village. Profiles from athletes from nearly every sport can be found on Tinder with updates like “Got plenty of time to kill” or “Looking for fun in Rio!”

WATCH: golden moments on Day 4 at Rio Olympics

Hook-ups among athletes have long been part of the games but using mobile apps has made these Olympic flings a lot easier. A surge in mobile dating first appeared during the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi after Olympic organisers loosened strict social media guidelines that had been in place during the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Nearly 11,000 of the fittest, strongest and buffest people in the world are all staying here at Rio’s sprawling Olympic Village. Photo: AP

Since then, the market for hook-up apps has only grown more popular. Tinder, which allows users to swipe right on a profile picture to approve and left to reject, is among the most widely used in the growing market that includes Grindr, Hinge and others.

Tinder spokeswoman Rosette Pambakian said usage has skyrocketed in Rio de Janeiro. Matches in the Olympic Village increased by 129 per cent over the weekend, and the company expects that trend to continue, she said.