Athletes struggle to keep cool in extreme heat

U.S. gymnastics superstar Simone Biles isn’t the only Olympian feeling the Paris heat.

A rain-soaked 2024 Olympics opening ceremony has since given way to sun and heat warnings, with temperatures in the French capital climbing to as high as 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days.

“Don’t come for me about my hair,” Biles said via Instagram before Tuesday’s gymnastics team final. “IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC and it’s like 9,000 degrees. Oh & a 45 minutes ride.”

British tennis player Jack Draper complained about the water bottles players were being given during his three-set loss to Taylor Fritz of the U.S.

“I haven’t played in this kind of heat for four months, it’s really tough out there,” world number 27 Draper said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

“I’m a big sweater so to retain fluid was tough. It was pretty poor. They give bottles to the players but the bottles don’t stay cool, so, you know, you’re drinking hot water out there,” he added. “That’s not fun in those sort of conditions.”

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

“I trained in Spain and also in Miami, where it is hot — this type of weather,” Fernandez said, according to The Associated Press. “But sometimes when you’re in a match, it’s a totally different environment. And in the heat, you get to feel all your emotions. … I didn’t manage it well.”

The New Zealand women’s rugby sevens team, meanwhile, reportedly said it had turned to ice water, cold baths and slushies to try to keep cool before competition.

Leading athletes had warned ahead of the Games that the Paris Olympics had the potential to be the hottest in history, saying that the intense heat forecast during July and August could lead to competitors collapsing or — in a worst-case scenario — dying during the event.

A scientific study by the World Weather Attribution found that the searing temperatures engulfing athletes and spectators at the Paris Olympics this week would have been “virtually impossible” without human-induced climate change.

“Yesterday, climate change crashed the Olympics,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist from Imperial College London and co-founder of the World Weather Attribution group.

“The world watched athletes swelter in 35°C heat. If the atmosphere wasn’t overloaded with emissions from burning fossil fuel, Paris would have been about 3°C cooler and much safer for sport,” Otto said on Wednesday.

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

Tennis and soccer players have received extra breaks, athletes taking part in sailing events on the Mediterranean coast have worn ice vests to counteract the heat and BMX riders have received umbrellas to shelter from the sun.

It’s not just humans. Horses are being monitored using thermal imaging technology to detect and prevent overheating, with strategically placed shade tents, misting fans and mobile cooling units also scattered around the Palace of Versailles.

Spectators have frequently sought out the provided mist-spraying showers to keep cool, with fans seen using umbrellas and forming long queues at ice cream stalls.

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