Heat is ruining sports: Elite athletes losing focus

Top athletes are struggling with extreme heat. Cyclist Mireia Benito, soccer player Héctor Bellerín, and runner Azucena Díaz say high temperatures are hurting their performance and health. “There were moments when I felt my head was going,” says Díaz, a long-distance runner. She competed in the 2016 Olympics, one of the hottest years on record. The sports industry depends on stable weather. But climate change is making it harder. On July 12, the Tour de France cut a stage by 30 kilometers due to heat. Cyclist Tadej Pogacar said he would change the calendar to avoid races in hot places during July and August. Bellerín plays for Real Betis in Seville, one of Spain’s hottest cities. “Extreme heat has a huge effect on my job,” he says. “When you are tired physically and mentally, it is harder to make good decisions. We feel this especially at the end of matches.” Exercise physiologist Ricardo Mora-Rodríguez says heat hurts the sport itself. “If players get fatigued by heat in the 45th minute, the second half will show professionals doing fewer sprints because their bodies cannot give more.” He adds that elite athletes are very vulnerable to heat stress. It can cause cramps, exhaustion, or heat stroke, which can lead to a coma. Bellerín once suffered from rhabdomyolysis after a dehydrated training session. “I had to stay in the hospital overnight,” he says. To prepare for heat, Benito trains indoors with heaters on full. “We put on a suit like an astronaut, and a sensor tells us when we are in a risk zone. Then we have to hold on for 15 minutes to an hour.” The 2019 World Athletics marathon in Doha had high dropout rates due to 33°C heat and 73% humidity. Forty of 68 women runners quit. Experts say the sports industry could lose 14% of its yearly income—over 2 trillion euros—by 2030 due to climate change. Yet the current World Cup is the most polluting ever. “Soccer is hurting itself,” says Bellerín. “One of its biggest sponsors is an oil company.” Some changes are happening. Sports now use cooling breaks, ice, water stations, and flexible schedules. But more is needed. The International Olympic Committee says heat stress will keep rising. “We need to ask what we really want,” says Benito. “If we want maximum performance, we must talk about calendars. We could avoid the south during summer.” Bellerín agrees: “Our season could have fewer games so we don’t play during the hottest months.” Díaz warns amateur runners: “You cannot run in 30 degrees like it’s 10. Slow down and hydrate.” “The key is that we shouldn’t have to adapt to bad conditions,” adds Bellerín. “Those conditions should not exist.”