Athletes warn ‘hottest Games on record’ could threaten lives at Paris Olympics | Paris Olympic Games 2024
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The Paris Olympics could be the hottest Games on record, with leading athletes warning that the intense heat predicted for the competition could lead to athletes collapsing or – in the worst case – dying during competition.
A new report, Rings of Fire: Heat Risks at the 2024 Paris Olympics, claims the 2021 Games held in Tokyo “offered a window into an alarming, escalating norm for the Summer Olympics.”
With temperatures above 34C and humidity approaching 70%, the games were described as “the hottest in history“.
“Competitors vomited and passed out at the finish line, wheelchairs were deployed to carry athletes away from the sun-baked arenas, and the fear of death on court was even raised mid-match by the No. 2 seeded tennis player at the Tokyo Games Daniil Medvedev.“
Inaction on climate change and the continued rate of fossil fuel use have caused the world to warm even more in the three years since, and the incidence of extreme heat threatening and undermining sporting events has only increased.
“We now know that the Paris Games have the potential to surpass [Tokyo’s heat record]said Emma Pocock, chief executive of FrontRunners, one of the organizations behind the report, “as climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels is contributing to the record heat streaks of recent months.”
Pocock described the Rings of Fire report as a “stake in the ground” and an urgent call for the sport’s governing bodies to take action against global warming.
“If the planet continues to warm, the sports we know and love are at risk.”
Since 1924, when Paris last hosted the Olympics, annual temperatures in the French capital have warmed by 1.8C, while on average there are 23 more ‘hot’ days (25C+) and nine more ‘hot’ (30C+) days per year .
Paris has experienced 50 heat waves since 1947, and they are increasing in frequency and intensity as a result of climate change. In 2003, in July and August – the same time as the upcoming Olympic Games – a record heat wave led to more than 14,000 additional deaths in France.
French forecaster Météo France is already forecasting warmer than normal conditions for May to July across the country. There is a 70% chance it will be hotter than usual, the forecaster said.
IN “consensus statement“, the International Olympic Committee proposed a set of mitigating measures to protect the health of athletes. But he acknowledged that extreme heat was a growing problem for sports around the world.
“Unfortunately, the level of environmental heat stress experienced by elite athletes will continue to increase in the coming years due to a combination of the increased prevalence, intensity and duration of bouts of … heat waves that occur due to climate change and globalization of the sport leading to more competitions organized in extremely hot climates.’
Hot and/or humid conditions make it difficult for athletes to regulate their core body temperature, impairing physical performance, especially in endurance events.
For athletes competing in extreme heat, the health risks range from sunburn and heat cramps to heat exhaustion or even life-threatening collapse from heatstroke.
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Australian eventer Rhydian Cowley will compete in his third Olympics in Paris and said he is concerned about the health and lives of athletes.
“We already know that extreme heat is a silent killer in the general population and that even with advance training and intervention, it can still be risky for athletes to compete.
“So, I am absolutely concerned that extreme heat during a competition could endanger the lives of athletes.”
Australian javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Barber, a Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and two-time world champion, said she was concerned about how quickly competing in extreme temperatures had become a reality.
“While we have adapted to the likelihood of racing in extreme heat, the bigger picture of why we are experiencing this is not being looked at: it was just accepted and planned. I think there needs to be more awareness around the bigger picture when it comes to rising temperatures.”
Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics – and a two-time Olympic gold medalist – said the effects of global warming on athletes “can be varied and wide-ranging”, from smaller performance-affecting issues such as sleep disruption and last-minute changes to event times, to serious health impacts such as heat-related stress and injury.
“As global temperatures continue to rise, climate change must increasingly be seen as an existential threat to sport. We are in a race against time. And that’s one race we simply can’t afford to lose.”
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