Case Report: Countermeasures Against Heat and Coronavirus for Japanese Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games

Abstract

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games were held in the hottest environment in the history of the games. Additionally, the worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic necessitated daily polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing during the games, wearing a mask became mandatory publicly, and it was an unheard and unique Olympic with no spectators. Heat acclimation, hydration, and body cooling are essential for safe and high-performance activities in hot environments. In 2015, the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences launched the “Heat Countermeasure Project” to conduct experiments and practical research on heat countermeasures and investigate issues related to heat countermeasures in each athletic event. The results obtained were proposed to various Japan national sports teams, and support for heat countermeasures for the Tokyo 2020 games was promoted in consultation with national federations. Furthermore, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, infectious disease countermeasures for the Tokyo 2020 Games during support were a must. Moreover, athletes, coaches, and team staff could not avoid implementing heat countermeasures while adopting measures against infectious diseases. This study aimed to clarify the issues faced with heat countermeasures and report on heat acclimation training and cooling support efforts, considering measures against infectious diseases.

COVID-19 infection risk assessment and management at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games: A scoping review

“…26, 2022 Japan Citizens in Japan Model simulation Ex-post assessment Vaccine, Basic measures Quantitative The machine learning based model simulation suggested that the effect of the Tokyo 2020 Games on the spread of COVID-19 infection was neither dominant nor negligible. [27] Feb. 17, 2022 Jun. 6, 2022 Japan Athletes and staff members na na Basic measures Qualitative This paper reported the importance of measures against heat and COVID-19 among athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Games.…”

“…When the judgments or extraction made by the two experts did not agree, a third expert was consulted. Ultimately, 30 papers remained [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] .…”

Climate and health challenges for Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics

“…Recent events such as the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, and the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, have raised awareness of heat risks among stakeholders and the general public. An update of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement focuses on protecting and maintaining athletes’ health while optimising their performance 1234567…”

A Review of Elite Athlete Evidence-Based Knowledge and Preparation for Competing in the Heat

“…Inevitably, this affects the sport landscape (an increasingly global industry estimated to be worth $700 billion by 2026 [111]). Indeed, Tokyo 2020 was the hottest Olympic [67] and Paralympic [64] games on record, and Paris (Olympic and Paralympic Games host, 2024), not typically considered a hot climate, could see temperatures regularly exceed 30 °C during the Games, or even reach 40 °C should a heat wave similar to that observed in 2022 occur [42]. Heatwaves are increasing in their frequency, intensity and duration [18], with maximum land [106] and sea [24] temperature records being regularly broken.…”