Race walkers in action (© Getty Images)
World Athletics is recruiting athletes who are competing at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Muscat 22 to take part in a study into the effects of heat on competitors’ bodies.
Following on from the work carried out in this field at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, World Athletics’ Health and Science department is continuing to investigate the heat preparation strategies used by endurance athletes and the body’s responses in elite race-walking competition.
Researchers are particularly interested in evaluating the heat acclimation strategies used by athletes in preparation for the 35km race, if athletes have a history of heat illness, if they use any supplements or medications that affect heat regulation, or if they have any health conditions that may affect how hot they become during competition.
As was the case with the study undertaken in Doha, participants will be required to complete a short online survey and then ingest a temperature measurement capsule (no bigger than a regular pill) before the event which will measure athletes’ core temperature during the races.
Before the event starts, a second temperature measurement capsule will be taped to participants’ legs so that skin temperature can be measured. Participants will be weighed immediately before and after the event to measure fluid loss.
The study conducted in Doha in 2019 found a relationship between athletes who failed to finish and the core-to-skin-temperature gradient. 63% of athletes in Doha had a dedicated heat acclimation of 5-30 days, and they generally ranked higher and were more likely to finish the race.
Even though temperatures are expected to be cooler in Muscat than they were in Doha, athletes will be exposed to the sun as the races will be taking place during daylight hours.
The aim of this research is to improve the scientific knowledge on tolerance to heat stress and heat acclimation strategies, and to better understand the relation between core temperature, skin temperature, dehydration and performance. It will also help improve the understanding of whether skin temperature monitoring helps to make endurance races in the heat safer. It will also specifically addresses the effects on female athletes, which are largely unexplored and unknown.
Through this research, the World Athletics Health and Science department hopes to improve recommendations for athletes competing in hot and humid environments, which will unfortunately be more and more frequent with climate change. Acclimatisation strategies are the best way to protect the health of athletes, reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses and optimise performance in these conditions.
Any athletes competing in the 35km event in Muscat who would be interested in taking part in this research are asked to contact: healthandscience@worldathletics.org.
