Environmental problems affect the performance and health of those who practice different disciplines

On January 19, the French tennis player Alize Cornet vanished in the first set against the Belgian Elise Mertens. The reason was the temperature of 42 ° C to which the athlete was exposed in Melbourne, during the Australian Open.

Many factors put athletes at risk; however, high temperatures are one of the most dangerous aspects. These are becoming more common due to global warming and, unfortunately, the forecasts are not optimistic.

The previous year, according to figures from Met Office (United Kingdom Office of Meteorology), there was an increase of 0.84 ° C in the global temperature. It should be noted that the increase has catastrophic consequences for the planet, as it melts the ice of the poles and as a consequence sea level increases, which in turn affects the global climate.

How does high temperatures affect athletic performance?

In many sports, the weather was considered part of the experience, a challenge to overcome, especially in extreme temperatures, whether warm or icy. For example, football teams have taken advantage of extreme weather when they play at home. This is the case of the Jaguars of Chiapas from Mexico, which play in full sun in the humid jungle. Another example is the teams located in the north of the planet like the Scandinavians, which play in almost frozen courts.

In addition to the environmental implications, at a sporting level, the problem is that global warming makes climates more extreme, affecting sports that are not specifically designed for extreme temperatures. In fact, the NFL has had to cancel games due to snowstorms.

At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA allowed the games to be stopped to hydrate the players and thus to avoid incidents or health complications in the athletes. Consequently, leagues worldwide have implemented the measure. However, the solution could only be temporary, so sports disciplines should consider how to protect athletes and their performance.

Although there are sports that due to their characteristics can be carried out in closed spaces such as gymnastics, boxing, soccer (there are stadiums with dome), swimming, etc., there are others that inevitably expose athletes to the climate. For example, cycling, walking, racing, etc. This type of physical activity should propose appropriate solutions and alternatives.

For now, some competitions must modify calendars for the problem of global warming. The Qatar 2022 World Cup will take place in autumn and not in summer as it is traditionally done, due to the risk posed by desert temperatures, added to climate change.

Beijing will have Winter Olympics also in 2022, a city where snow is almost non-existent and which will make artificial games to fulfill the commitment. The situation was also presented in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014. On both occasions, the organizers had to store and transport snow for the games.

According to Daniel Scott of the University of Waterloo in Canada, by 2050 there will be almost no cities with conditions for winter jousting. Athletes must now look for snowy places to train, which are increasingly scarce and dangerous, as cracks in glaciers endanger their physical integrity.

LatinAmerican Post | Luis Liborio
Translated by Marcela Peñaloza