Athletes struggle to stay cool in sweltering heat | Real Time Headlines

American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles isn’t the only Olympian feeling the heat in Paris.

2024 Olympics soaked by rain opening ceremony Since then, temperatures in the French capital have climbed to 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days.

“Don’t come after me for my hair,” Biles said via Instagram before Tuesday’s game. Gymnastics Team Finals. “It’s done, but the bus doesn’t have air conditioning and it’s about 9,000 degrees. Oh, and it’s another 45 minutes of driving.”

British tennis player Jack Draper complained about offering water bottles to players during three-set loss to American Taylor Fritz

“I haven’t played in this heat for four months and it’s really tough out there,” Draper, ranked 27th in the world, reportedly said on Tuesday. Reuters.

“I was wearing a big sweater, so it was hard to retain the liquid. It was bad. They gave the players bottles, but the bottles didn’t stay cool, so, you know, you were drinking hot water in there,” he added. “In this case, it’s not fun.”

Canadian tennis player Leylah Fernandez also described the weather as “crazy” shortly after losing to Germany’s Angelique Kerber.

“I trained in Spain and Miami, where it was very hot,” Fernandez reportedly said. Associated Press. “But sometimes when you’re playing, it’s a completely different environment. In the heat, you feel all your emotions… I didn’t handle it well.”

Meanwhile, the New Zealand women’s rugby sevens team It is said He said he had started using ice water, cold baths and mud to stay cool before the game.

The leading athletes are warn Ahead of the Games, which threaten to become the hottest in history, Paris said sweltering heat expected in July and August could cause competitors to collapse during the games or, in the worst cases, die.

Scientific research on world weather attribution established The scorching temperatures that engulfed athletes and spectators at this week’s Paris Olympics would be “almost impossible” without human-induced climate change.

“Yesterday, climate change ruined the Olympics,” explain Friederike Otto is a climate scientist at Imperial College London and co-founder of the World Weather Attribution Group.

“The whole world watches as athletes endure the heat in temperatures of 35°C. If the atmosphere were not overloaded by emissions from burning fossil fuels, temperatures in Paris would be around 3°C cooler and sports would be safer,” Otto said Wednesday.

Hot weather protocols have been introduced across a range of sports to help protect athlete welfare.

Tennis and football players were given extra breaks, athletes competing in sailing races along the Mediterranean coast wore ice vests to beat the heat and BMX riders were given parasols to shield themselves from the sun.

Not just humans. The horses are being monitored using thermal imaging technology to detect and prevent overheating, and there are shade tents, mist fans and mobile cooling units strategically placed around the Palace of Versailles.

Spectators often seek out the spray showers provided to keep cool, and fans hold umbrellas and line up at ice cream stands.

Volunteers at the Eiffel Tower Stadium even used hoses to spray water on cheering fans during the U.S. vs. Morocco beach volleyball game on Tuesday.