no roof

4precious said:

The preparations for the Olympics in Athens are well
behind schedule. I assume people have seen that.

They had planned to put a roof over the outdoor pool, but
do not have time to do so. So the swimmers will be
competing in the extremely hot sun of Athens in August.

Do you think that will slow them down?

Eric

I heard Matt Welsh complaining on TV that backstrokers use
the roof to "align" themeleves in the lane. He said they
need something overhead if its not going to turn into an
even bigger farce.

gtoomey

Gregory Toomey said:

4precious said:

The preparations for the Olympics in Athens are well
behind schedule. I assume people have seen that.

They had planned to put a roof over the outdoor pool, but
do not have time to do so. So the swimmers will be
competing in the extremely hot sun of Athens in August.

Do you think that will slow them down?

Eric

I heard Matt Welsh complaining on TV that backstrokers use
the roof to "align" themeleves in the lane. He said they
need something overhead if its not going to turn into an
even bigger farce.

Also all the Australians swimmers are training outdoors in
preparation, & will use sunscreen etc if nesesary.

gtoomey

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do you think that will slow them down?

It didn't seem to slow them down much in Los Angeles in
1984 or at Barcelona in 1992, but then again the summer
climates at those two locations are probably a little
cooler on average than Athens in August. I'm wondering
why they couldn't at least install some kind of canopy
over the pool to provide some solar shielding for the
athletes. It wouldn't necessarily be that costly or time
consuming to do so. The spectators in the stands will
probably have to endure more heat related discomfort
than the athletes since the athletes will have the
opportunity to cool off and acclimate themselves prior
to their events in practice pools and shaded areas as
well as having access to indoor air conditioned
facilities. The ones I really feel sorry for, are the
track and field and other outdoor athletes who won't
have the luxury of competing in a cooler aquatic
environment like the swimmers. Their performances will
most likely be negatively impacted by the summer heat.

Steve Curtis

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I heard Matt Welsh complaining on TV that backstrokers use
the roof to

"align" themeleves in the lane. He said they need
something overhead if its not going to turn into an even
bigger farce.<<

That's strange. In California and Arizona, virtually all
pools are outdoor pools, without a roof. Aaron Peirsol and
Lenny Krayzelburg, for example, did all their training and
much of their racing in outdoor pools. The US Olympic Trials
are being held literally on the beach in Long Beach in July
in an outdoor pool with no roof. This makes a lot of sense.

Usually, USA track and field ("athletics"😉 holds Olympic
Trials in the marathon in some northern city in the Spring
where the temperature is about 45 degrees Fahrenheit or so
and they select three cool weather runners who utterly wilt
at the Olympics in August in some hot climate.