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Fouaad Mirza will begin his Tokyo Olympics campaign on July 30. The temperature forecast for the day is 30 degrees celsius in the morning. However, it will feel like 36, according to Accuweather predictions. This is not good news for Dajara 4, Mirza’s horse at the Tokyo Olympics, as the mare will battle intense heat which is likely to impact their performance.
It will be a story for the entire two weeks of the Tokyo Olympics. Climate change and the risk of intense heat and high humidity threaten the performance and health of athletes, according to a study by the British Association for Sustainability in Sport (BASIS).
According to the report titled “Rings of Fire: How Heat Could Impact the 2021 Tokyo Olympics,” Japan can get dangerously hot in the summer.
Temperatures in the host city, Tokyo, are forecast to average between 26.3 and 27.4 degrees Celsius in August, reaching a maximum of 39.1 degrees Celsius on August 3. Annu Rani (javelin), Tejinder Toor (shot put) are scheduled to play on this day. It is also one of the days when the semifinals of the hockey event will be held.
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Equestrian, tennis, road cycling, racewalk, sailing and triathlon are predicted to be most affected by adverse climatic conditions.
Climate conditions and its impact at the Tokyo Olympics
Climate and temperature play a significant role in an athlete's performance. High temperatures can cause various heat-related issues like strokes and cramps, while low temperatures may lead to hypothermia.
Murali Sreeshankar, who will compete in the long jump at the Tokyo Olympics, says the conditions in Japan will be crucial to bringing out the best in an athlete. If the conditions are “not ideal” it will impact the performance. In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, he said:
“The conditions are very important because it plays an important role in an athletes performance. We can be as fit as we want but if the conditions are not ideal, it will have an impact on our performance. My jump in Bhuvneshwar in 2018, the conditions were perfect for a good performance. It was overcast and there was a bit of humidity in the atmosphere.”
Sreeshankar leapt 8.20m to create a national record. He explains that the concentration of ions is directly proportional to the way an athlete's body would react on a given day. The higher the number, the better.
Annu Rani echoed Sreeshankar and added humid conditions during the Tokyo Olympics will benefit her. She said:
“Javelin is a very technical event. It mostly depends on how your body is working on that particular day. The humid conditions will certainly favour us more. I very well remember that at the 2019 World Championships, many athletes from Europe were not able to cope up with the hot and humid conditions of Doha. But, saying that, they are world-class athletes and would keep those experiences in mind."
Only 40 of the 68 runners finished the women’s marathon at the 2019 Worlds, despite the race being shifted to midnight to avoid searing daytime heat.
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However, unlike jumpers and throwers who might benefit from humidity, it is the running, cycling and equestrian contingent that will be affected the most, predicts the BASIS study.
The potential impact in the equestrian event will be fatigue to the horse during the Tokyo Olympics. According to the report, the horses are likely to face high fatigue levels. As a way to minimize the impact, the report suggests that a horse cooling tent with misted fan and ice water can be installed at the location.
With the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to take place between July 24 and Aug. 8, some events including the marathon and road cycling have been shifted to cooler places near Sapporo and Mount Fuji.
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