From Tokyo through Paris to Los Angeles and beyond – Preparing athletes to face the heat of a warming world

After Tokyo 2020 being the hottest Olympic Games on record, the 2024 Summer Olympiad will be held in Paris from July 26th to August 11th, with the Paralympic games being held from August 28th to September 8th, where it may be even hotter. In 2023, a heat wave spread across Europe with record breaking temperatures reached throughout the continent, with a peak temperature in France of 42.4 °C and in Paris of 35.4 °C. These temperatures occurred during the hottest year on record, 2023.¹ However, 2024 is set to surpass that with each month of the year having already exceeded the temperatures from last year.¹ Interestingly, the Olympic venues and facilities for Paris will be air-conditioning free, as the organising committee are aiming to make Paris 2024 the most sustainable games in modern history. The lack of air-conditioning and access to cooler environments, coupled with high ambient temperatures and the potential for heat waves, could detrimentally influence athlete performance and increase exertional heat illness risk.^2,3 Beyond the Paris Olympics, lessons must be learned by athletes, practitioners and event organisers to allow sufficient planning and implementation time for the 2028 Summer Olympic/Paralympic games in Los Angeles...(Cont.)