Athletes warn of extreme heat risk at Olympic, Paralympic games

Some of the world's top elite athletes are voicing concern about competing during extreme heat in a new report released before the Olympics and Paralympics to be held this summer in France.

"We already know that extreme heat is a silent killer among the general population, and that even with prior preparation and intervention, it can still be risky for athletes to compete in," said Australian racewalker Rhydian Cowley in the report, Rings of Fire: Heat Risks at the 2024 Paris Olympics, produced by Basis Frontrunners.

"So absolutely I'm concerned that extreme heat in competition could threaten the lives of athletes," Cowley concludes.

The Summer Olympics are scheduled to begin July 26 and the Paralympics will start August 28, both in Paris, France. The competitions could end up being the hottest on record, exceeding temperatures at the last summer games in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

Several statistics indicate the risk this year's games pose. Europe was recently found by the EU's weather service to be the fastest-warming continent on Earth. France's hottest three years on record have occurred since 2020, and the nine hottest have all been in the last decade.

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