Athletes collapse in extreme heat at the Olympics

TThe women’s and men’s marathons will be held in Sapporo This weekend. They were originally planned for Tokyo, but the organizers moved them to Sapporo, which is well north of Tokyo and located on the island of Hokkaido, which is generally cooler.

But it seems that the heat cannot be avoided so easily. Hokkaido is currently experiencing historic heat wave — average temperatures during the month of July having set records, flight up to 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit. (38.4 degrees Celsius). Not exactly ideal conditions for running any distance, let alone 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers).

The organizers take their precautions, provide 14 water stations along the course, nine of which will also have crushed ice. But at some point, shouldn’t we take a step back and ask ourselves if the Olympics are really worth the competitors and workers to risk their lives?

Last week the Daily Beast find that in their bid to host the Olympics, Tokyo officials were not being honest about the potential dangers the heat could pose. In a 2020 tender dossier, the group behind the offer assured the International Olympic Committee that “with many days of mild and sunny weather, this period offers an ideal climate for the athletes to give the best of themselves”. But Tokyo’s temperatures have upward trend, and climate change increases the risk of more extreme heat. If we are going to have an Olympics in the years to come, we had better look carefully at climate trends before reserving a location.