Cooling tech at the Paris Olympics
Olympic athletes are fighting the sweltering heat through the use of innovative tech.
Courtesy of CoolMitt
As we gear up for the Paris 2024 Olympics, athletes are turning to innovative cooling technologies to combat the sweltering summer heat. With temperatures expected to soar, maintaining optimal body temperature becomes crucial for peak performance. Athletes, coaches, and scientists are exploring advanced cooling methods to stay cool and perform at their best.
“It can be very hot and miserable [in Paris], as it was in Tokyo during the last Olympics,” says Craig Heller, a biology professor at Stanford University who specializes in body temperature regulation. “And that increase in environmental temperature has lots of effects on performance.”
One of the standout innovations is the CoolMitt, a device designed by Heller and his team at Stanford. CoolMitt is worn like a mitten and works by extracting heat from the athlete’s body through the hand. The device targets glabrous skin surfaces and non-hairy parts of the body that have specialized structures for heat loss. By cooling the blood circulating back to the heart, CoolMitt helps prevent hyperthermia and maintains muscle function, allowing athletes to train and compete longer and more effectively. Heller, explains, “If you take heat out of the core of the body, that prevents heat from building up in the active muscles, and they keep on working.” This innovative approach is already benefiting athletes like American fencer Alex Massialas and the USA Wrestling team, who report improved endurance and performance.
The Paris Olympics are set to be the greenest yet, with no air conditioning in athletes’ accommodation, making personal cooling strategies even more critical. Athletes are expected to face extreme heat, similar to the conditions experienced during the Tokyo Olympics, where difficulties with temperature regulation significantly impacted performance.
Athletes and their support teams are exploring various methods to stay cool. Traditional methods like ice baths and cold towels are being supplemented with new technologies such as CoolMitt. Tyler Friedrich, associate athletics director for applied performance at Stanford, emphasizes the importance of these innovations, noting, “We know if we are overheating, we will not be performing at the level that we want or that we should be.”
The CoolMitt has shown promising results, with athletes reporting sustained energy levels throughout their activities. This not only boosts physical performance but also enhances psychological resilience, crucial for competing at the highest levels.
As the Paris 2024 Olympics approach, the integration of cooling technologies like CoolMitt highlights the intersection of sports and technology. These innovations not only enhance athletic performance but also ensure the well-being and safety of athletes competing in extreme conditions, both of which are vital to a successful Olympics.
