When Tokyo was selected for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, little was known in terms of the impact of heat on competing athletes.

However, in the past year the organizing committee’s measures to combat the aforementioned have been quite a hot topic, leading to a brainstorm or some innovative measures. Some of these are common sense, while others may seem unattainable.

The latest is to move the marathon and race walking events to Sapporo, the host city of the Winter Olympic Games back in 1972. The move to Hokkaido, the northern-most region of the country, will mean significantly lower temperatures for the athletes competing in these sports during the Olympic Games.

Just one day after the proposal, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said the governing body and local organizers have decided to stage the 2020 Summer Games marathon and race walking events in Sapporo in order to avoid Tokyo’s extreme heat in early August.

The average monthly high temperatures in Sapporo are around 78 degrees Fahrenheit in late July and early August. In Tokyo, the average highs are almost 10 degrees warmer, around 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prior to the idea of moving the events to a different city, the organizing committee was already eyeing the possibility of changing the starting times for some events, like the marathon and race walk events, rugby and cycling to avoid the peak heat of the day. But why put the pressure on the athletes in such a way that might impact their performance at the Games?

Last year a heatwave in the city killed over a dozen people. So far this year, 11 people have died and another 5,000 have been taken to hospitals.

In late July, the organizing committee tested ways to keep people cool at an international volleyball event in light of next year’s Games.

These measures include a specially-designed main stadium that is supposed to channel cooler air across spectators and onto the track, water mist towers, ice packs or shaded areas to provide relief to spectators lining up outside venues.

The Tokyo Fire Department is also preparing additional ambulances and multilingual support for athletes and spectators as a safety measure against a possible surge in heatstroke and heat exhaustion cases at next summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Weather-related concerns have increased ever since Tokyo was awarded the Games back in 2013. Most recently, a historic heatwave affected Japan’s capital last summer, as it saw a record high temperature of 41.1 degrees Celsius.

While the organizing committee is vowing for the safety of the athletes, the city of Tokyo is seeking to use the situation as a political argument, which they should stay out of.

Some have insinuated that pollution and littering have existed forever in Japan, and therefore do not understand why it is trending so much lately. The reason for this is that the Olympic movement drags the attention from millions of viewers and sportaholics. 

Whether society wants to believe it, global warming and climate change are real, and these are just some of the impacts they have. What better way to get the point across than through the Olympics?

Since the Olympic Games are such a televised and viral event, maybe society as a whole should follow their example and begin to take care of our planet.

Photo from Pixabay