ATHLETES KEEPING THEIR COOL

by Rebecca Lee 14.8.08

Two of the biggest factors which will affect those athletes competing outdoors at the Beijing Games, are heat and humidity. However, with physiological expertise, the right preparation and support during the Games give athletes the best chance at keeping cool.  

Despite the rain storms, once dry, Beijing poses athletes the environmental challenge of high heat and intense humidity, which can both have a negative impact on performance. EIS Physiologist Charlie Pedlar explains how some athletes have been preparing for conditions and how they will be keeping their cool.

"Athletes who will be facing the factors of heat and humidity will have been preparing for conditions in the run up to the Games” said Pedlar, who has been working with some of the Athletics squad at St Mary’s College, London.

“The two weeks before the holding camp in Macau the acclimatisation chamber at St. Mary’s was on every day! The temperature was around 30 degrees but what’s essential for this preparation is being able to have the humidity up high too” Pedlar explained. “If it was hot and dry it would be a different story but it’s the humidity which prevents athletes cooling down efficiently because the sweat can’t evaporate and therefore remains on the skin. The evaporation of sweat is our most powerful and effective means of cooling the body.”

Preparations across various sports has included programmes which led into the holding camp and then into Beijing.

"An acclimatisation programme for an athlete would typically involve accumulating a number of training sessions in an environmental chamber during the 2 weeks before leaving for the hot climate. During this time body temperatures, hydration, and exercise intensity would be monitored” said Pedlar. “One of the dangers in acclimatisation preparation is that athletes could over-heat and that could cause heat illness or injury. This must be avoided because of the negative effect on performance and therefore programmes are carefully set out over a period of time going into an event” he added.

Going into the Games acclimatisation is important, but whilst out in competition, work can still be done to keep temperatures low and help athletes recover during heats.

“Pre-cooling can play a role in some events” says Pedlar. “This involves dropping athletes’ temperatures ahead of an event so that the body has a greater capacity to store heat and therefore to tolerate the high work rate over the race without overheating. Similarly, post-event, various cooling techniques can help aid recovery and keep athletes cool. The core temperature of athletes can rise following an event, so keeping cool then can be important, particularly if they need to recover and get to the next round.”

For those athletes competing in high endurance events outside, heat and humidity poses the biggest threat to performance. EIS Physiologists have been working with a number of sports to cope with the challenge, many of which continue their support out in Beijing.

EIS Physiologist Sarah Hardman worked with the GB Rowing squad in their pre-acclimation work at the EIS base in Bisham where the acclimatisation chamber was used. Now in Beijing, the squad are ensuring their ice vests maximise their recovery post event. Currently out in Beijing, EIS Physiologists Dave Bailey and Naroa Etxebarria are working with Mountain Biking and Triathlon respectively in order to help race plans considering physiological aspects, like heat and humidity.