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August 24, 2008 --

NBC couldn't televise the most exciting action at the Olympics in Beijing - the sexual acrobatics of the young competitors in the Olympic Village.

According to veterans of the Games, the world's top athletes were hooking up for the two weeks of competition - with a final burst of sexual release last night on the eve of today's closing ceremonies.

Photo Gallery: Olympic Hotties

"This sex fest . . . [happened] right here in Beijing," Matthew Syed, a past Olympian and table-tennis champion now working as a commentator, writes in the Times of London. "Olympic athletes have to display an unnatural - and, it has to be said, wholly unhealthy - level of self-discipline in the build-up to big competitions. How else is this going to manifest itself than with a volcanic release of pent-up hedonism?"

Syed notes the big winners, "even those as geeky as Michael Phelps," were the principal objects of desire for many female athletes. Losers also get their share, he said, adding it was "a common sight to see recently knocked-out athletes gorging on Magnums and McDonald's, swilling alcohol and, of course, shagging like crazy."

To make sure the competitors practice safe sex, the Bejing government stocked the Olympic Village with free condoms, and they were scooped up by the handfuls. One Australian athlete told the paper, "It is unbelievable in there; everyone is totally crazy once they are out of their competitions."

Many past Olympic hookups have progressed beyond the original passion. Tennis aces Roger Federer and gal pal Mirka Vavrinec met at the 2000 Games in Sydney, as did field-hockey greats Alyson Annan and Carole Thate, who entered a civil partnership. Air riflers Matt Emmons and Katy Kurkova wed after sparks flew in Athens in 2004. And sprinter Derek Redmond and swimmer Sharron Davies married after meeting at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics