Does the smog favor some athletes?
August 6, 2008
Earlier today I was reading an article about Australian tennis player Sam Stosur. She was saying that Beijing will be the most brutal tennis tournament in terms of the weather.
The Australian Open is hot but without the humidity. Here in Beijing you get the heat with humid conditions thrown in. Stosur said she was training and the smog haze probably kept it cooler as you did not have to contend with the extra sting from direct sunlight.
For this reason it may actually help some players when they are out in the hot Beijing weather. I can talk from personal experience that when the skies are clear and the sun is beating down it feels a lot more oppressive than when the smog filters the sunshine.
Any athlete here for the Beijing Olympics that is competing outside is going to find it tough. I can see plenty of heat related withdrawals happening in the tennis tournament. If players have not prepared for hot humid conditions they are going to struggle.
Yesterday I was watching the Australian hockey team training under the hot Beijing sun. I remember reading an article about the team in the past where they said the pollution is not the worry in Beijing it is the heat. As part of the preparation the team has been working with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).
The AIS have come up with a small rice sized thermometer that the players actually swallow. The thermometer reading is then read from a scanner against the stomach of the player. This reading gives an accurate core body temperature reading. If the players are getting too hot corrective action can be taken before it is too late.
On the local Beijing news last night they were showing the beach volleyball venue in Chaoyang Park. There is nowhere to hide on the sand from the fierce playing conditions, it can be a bit like a furnace at times. They showed some fine mist sprinklers that will be used to try to help the players keep cool. I would imagine socks might be worn to protect the players feet.
I know from my playing days on the beach volleyball tour that the conditions here in Beijing are what most players hate. There are a few exceptions as some players love hot humid conditions but they are crazy if you ask me. I remember playing at Hamilton Island in Australia during summer and the heat and humidity hit you hard.
It will be an interesting two weeks. It is tough enough being a spectator. There will be long waits in security checkpoint queues and plenty of walking to get to the venues. I know Sydney was a lot more pleasant from both an athletes perspective and that of a spectator.
What do you think about the conditions in Beijing? Leave a comment below.
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