After heavy rain at last week’s opening ceremony, the Paris Olympics on Tuesday faced starkly different conditions, with temperatures rising to 35 degrees Celsius. Just to add insult to injury, the French meteorological service placed the capital on major storm alert, warning that thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail and lightning were likely overnight. The anticipated return of some wet weather could be a relief for athletes, spectators and officials who have spent the day in unforgiving weather.
A report released last month ahead of the Games and backed by climate scientists and athletes warned of the dangers posed by extremely high temperatures.
Paris has been hit by a series of record heatwaves in recent years.
At Roland Garros, where Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz played in the men’s doubles, stadium announcers urged tennis fans to take breaks from the scorching heat in cooler areas of the court.
Briton Jack Draper called the conditions “brutal.”
Players were given reusable bottles, but the world number 27 said it was impossible to keep the water cold.
“We were drinking hot water out there,” Draper said after his exit to Taylor Fritz of the United States.
“It’s not fun in those kinds of conditions.”
Tennis officials activated a heat protocol, allowing a 10-minute break between the second and third sets.
The stark contrast with Friday, when the opening ceremony was intense and considerably colder, was not lost on German hockey player Christopher Ruehr.
Saturday was also rainy, hampering some events, before giving way to increasingly warmer weather in recent days.
“It was a big step up from the last few days where it was raining and it was 20 degrees,” said Ruehr, after scoring in the win over South Africa.
“But everyone has to deal with this, and now let’s take a cold shower.
“We have ice vests, which are just cool vests that we put over our shirts and cool down a little bit, and we have ice towels.”
British horseman Carl Hester said it was vital to keep his horses fresh in competition at the sunny Chateau de Versailles.
“If you’re really thinking about your horse, you warm up in the indoor arena to protect them from the sun and then go out to the show,” he said.
‘It is worth it’
It was no less punishing for spectators at outdoor events, even though some venues had lamppost-like devices that provided spectators with a shower of water similar to a weak shower.
In a fan zone in the heart of the capital, at the Hotel de Ville, visitors enjoying the action on big screens fanned themselves with whatever they had at hand and were helped to cool off with light jets of water.
Asked if it was too hot to enjoy the sporting drama unfolding on screen, Brazilian tourist Enzo Calgano, 30, said: “At the end of the day, the Olympics are more important than the hot weather.”
Gabriela Rincon, a 34-year-old Mexican tourist, agreed.
“The truth is there’s a great atmosphere and it’s worth it,” she said.
“Some water, you need to stay hydrated, but the environment makes it worth it.”
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