Endurance events already challenge athletes and push them to their limits. With global temperatures rising, this could put more stress on them than they can handle. As extreme weather conditions escalate, their impact on sporting events could be severe. Sporting experts warn that long-distance running events may need to be separated from athletics championships for this reason.
Will the sporting calendar change?
Sebastian Coe, former Olympian and World Athletics President, says that endurance events could become unsafe for athletes in summer months due to increasing temperatures. Severe heat can cause heat stroke and other problems that impact the performance and safety of athletes. Coe says organizers need to start looking at the calendar differently when planning events. The World Athletic Championships and the Summer Olympics both presently take place during some of the hottest months of summer.
Americans love to watch these events and place bets on them, so any change in the sporting calendar is significant to them. Online sports betting is now legal in most U.S. states.
Effect on the Tokyo Olympics
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, many of the athletes already found the heat difficult to handle. Those competing in the triathlon needed assistance with getting off the track after the event. The marathon was moved to 500 miles north of Tokyo, but that didn’t help either, as the whole of northern Japan was experiencing severe heat.
Top tennis player Novak Djokovic spoke about the brutal conditions and suggested playing matches later in the day. This type of heat can also affect playing surfaces and impact the behavior of the ball in ball sports like tennis.
Effect on the Paris Olympics
In the 100 years since Paris last hosted the Olympics, the city has warmed 5.5°F during July and August. However, the temperatures weren’t as severe in 2024 as they had been the year before due to the heatwave in Europe at the time.
Adaptation measures included environmental monitoring to evaluate heat stress risks, along with the implementation of shaded and cooled areas like misting stations and retractable roofs. Event schedules were also adjusted with added flexibility.
Tour de France may need to move to a cooler month
The Tour de France is traditionally held in July but may need to be held in a cooler month in the future. On the hottest days of the last men’s race, the temperatures reached nearly 104°F.
Doing extreme sports in this kind of temperature puts tremendous pressure on the body to stay regulated. The organizers of the event resorted to various measures, such as cooling stations and spraying water on melting road surfaces.
How much are temperatures rising?
Global warming induced by humans surpassed 1.5°C in 2024, according to Copernicus Climate Change. According to the United Nations, the climate pledges that have already been made aren’t sufficient to prevent temperatures from rising even higher. At the rate of 1.5°C, about 14% of the population globally will be exposed to heat waves every five years. If the figure goes up to 2%, this percentage rises to 37%.
This is impacting daily lives and businesses in many ways. Take, for example, the tourist numbers in popular destinations. Vacationing in Bali, Jamaica, Belize, or another beach destination is on most people’s bucket lists. Even this could fall out of favor as temperatures rise.
Adaptation measures
Major sports events are increasingly using measures like moving events to cooler times of the day and implementing water breaks. However, as temperatures rise, even measures like these are not enough. Marathons and long-distance events all over the globe have been cancelled or run at night to avoid the harmful effects of the heat.
Potential host cities of events will have to assess climate risk profiles and consider the costs of adaptation measures when facing extreme weather conditions. Over the long term, the sports industry must find sustainable solutions for the future, considering global warming. It is already adapting to the new normal to protect athletes and spectators and allow sporting events like marathons to continue.