From extreme heat to wildfire smoke-filled skies and snowless ski hills, climate change is now a major opponent for athletes worldwide. In the lead-up to what may be the hottest Olympics ever, athletes and experts are speaking up on how a warming planet is changing the game.From extreme heat to wildfire smoke-filled skies and snowless ski hills, climate change is now a major opponent for athletes worldwide.
She says if there isn't an environment where the athlete can say "I'm not okay," they might not get help, or take the break they need. "I'm a fighter, I can finish the match, but I can die," Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev told the umpire at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, after two medical time outs in what felt like 37-degree heat.
Team Canada's Laurence Vincent Lapointe of Canada celebrates after winning silver in the C1 200M at the Tokyo Olympics, Aug. 5, 2021. "It's certainly dangerous for athletes to be competing in any conditions that get into that mid-30s range. And the reason is it becomes basically impossible physiologically to cool the body past that point," said Orr, author of the recent bookThe upcoming Games may surpass Tokyo's heat records, according to some projections.
"It was absolutely horrible, one of the worst experiences I've ever had, no exaggeration," said marathon swimmer Hector Pardoe in the report, describing his race at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.