The Tokyo Olympics have passed the turning point of the Games, but the competition continues in the heat.
On the other hand, in the harsh environment of high temperature and humidity, athletes who participated in the competition are complaining one after another.
A situation far from the "ideal climate"
Eight years before the Tokyo Olympics are held.
The candidate file submitted by the Games Bid Committee to the IOC = International Olympic Committee at the time stated the climate during the Games as follows.
"The weather during this time is often sunny and warm, making it an ideal climate for athletes to perform at their best."
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the highest temperature in Tokyo last month (July) when the tournament actually started was 34 degrees 7 minutes, and the humidity averaged 80%.
Athletes who participated in the tournament complained one after another in the harsh environment of high temperature and humidity, which was far from the "ideal climate" stated in the candidate file.
The one that stood out was the tennis player.
On July 24, the first day of tennis, after the first round of men's singles, world champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia said, "It's very hot and humid, the court is hot, everything is heavy and it's pretty tough. There is a light for the night game, so there should be a way to start at 4 or 5 pm and play until midnight, "he asked the International Tennis Federation to improve the tournament management. ..
International Tennis Federation forced to take new measures
In fact, the International Tennis Federation, which is in charge of management, took measures in anticipation of the heat of Tokyo even before the tournament.
Predict the temperature during the tournament based on the weather data for the last 3 years.
As a result, the heat is so hot that it will be difficult to continue the match compared to the four major tournaments in Australia, where the maximum temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius every day, the "Australian Open" and the "US Open" in the United States, which exceeds 35 degrees Celsius. I decided that it wouldn't be.
However, as it is necessary to be cautious about the humid heat peculiar to Asia, if the heat index exceeds a certain standard only for this tournament, which usually does not have a break between sets, either singles At the request of that player, the rules were changed before the tournament so that 10 minutes could be taken between the 2nd and 3rd sets.
However, as soon as the tournament started, I was forced to review the measures.
It was because there was a player who played with his face bright red even if he took a break during the set on the first day when the temperature of the venue exceeded 30 degrees Celsius.
The hot and humid environment was harder than I had imagined for the athletes who had been touring in Europe for the last four months, even in situations where the temperature was not as high as in the Australian Open and the United States.
The International Tennis Federation has begun to consider delaying the start time to avoid a match between Japan and China.
However, the state of emergency is an issue.
There are five types of tennis, men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, and a total of 208 games will be completed in 9 days.
In order to delay the start time and complete this number of games, the end time of the game must be delayed accordingly.
However, due to the fact that the time of the last train was advanced under the state of emergency in Tokyo, it was not possible to secure the staff necessary for running the tournament until late.
For this reason, the International Tennis Federation decided that it was not possible to delay the match time immediately, and thought that it would be realistic to delay the start time from the 7th day, when the tournament progresses and the number of match days per day decreases.
Regarding the decision at this time, David Haggerty, chairman of the International Tennis Federation, said, "Of course, management of the physical condition of the players was important, but it was extremely difficult to make adjustments under the state of emergency. I thought it would be possible when I knew which event I would participate in. "
However, what I was afraid of happened after that.
On the 28th of this month, the fifth day, a Spanish player was unable to walk in the quarterfinals of the women's singles due to the heat and abstained on the way.
The International Tennis Federation discussed with the IOC, the Games Organizing Committee, medical personnel, etc. that evening and changed the schedule to be one day ahead of schedule and to delay the start time from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm from the sixth day of the next day. ..
Fortunately, no player has abstained due to the heat since then.
Best in limited situations
On the final day, I asked the board of directors of the International Tennis Federation about the evaluation of the series of responses of this tournament.
The director said, "I was wondering what'Athlete First'was, but I thought I would take a flexible response as an operation and attack the last minute. Although the situation is different, I want you to do your best in other competitions in a limited situation. I sent an ale to other competition groups.
The Olympics have passed the turning point of the Games, but the competition continues in the heat.
I would like the athletes to do their best not only for their own measures but also for the management side of the competition to be held in the future, and to take flexible measures toward the realization of athlete first.