CoolMitt Technology Help Athletes Face Hot Temperature Challenges At The 2024 Paris Olympics

JAKARTA - The 2024 Paris Olympics will present new challenges for athletes with rising summer temperatures in Europe. After setting a record heat in 2023, temperatures are expected to rise again, although definite weather forecasts for July remain uncertain. The national weather agency, Meteo-France, revealed that conditions hotter than usual are likely to occur.

In an effort to hold the most environmentally friendly Olympics, Paris 2024 will not provide air conditioning in athletes' rooms. This makes athletes have to pay more attention to their body temperature during training, recovery, and competition. "Paris can be very hot and uncomfortable, just like in Tokyo during the last Olympics," said Craig Heller, a professor of biology at Stanford University who specializes in body temperature regulation.

Stanford University, which is located in the California Bay Area, is known as the birthplace of many Olympic athletes. Stanford-affiliated athletes have won at least one medal in each Olympics since 1912, with 26 medals won in Tokyo and 27 in Rio in 2016. Stanford researchers, such as▁mengenal, have had the opportunity to study body temperature regulation, and proximity to Silicon Valley has allowed technology to enter the sport.

Blood Cooling

Heller helped create CoolMitt, a device used like gloves that helps emit heat while cooling blood which is then re-circulated into the athlete's heart and muscles. The device is designed for use during the break in matches, between sets and repetitions in the gym, or short breaks in training or competition.

"By removing the heat from the body's core, it prevents the heat from piling up in the active muscles, and they are continuing to work," WORD. "So, CoolMitt prevents hyperthermia, increasing body temperature to a dangerous level. Thus, enabling higher work volume. And if the work volume is higher, the effect of the condition will be greater."

CoolMitt, which has been used by the USA Wrestling Team and American fencing athlete Alex Massialas, is targeting the surface of the glabrous skin, a hairless body that contains a special vascular structure that facilitates heat release. When the hands are in the mitts, the palms lean on the pads containing water regulated at temperatures 10 to 12 degrees Celsius (50 to 53 degrees Fahrenheit). This pillow draws heat while cooling the athlete's blood before reaching the vasokonstriction rate, which slows down blood flow.

Tyler Friedrich, associate athletic director for applied performance at Stanford University, works with athletes on campus, including some who go to Tokyo and are likely to go to Paris, on power programs and conditions. "We know if we are too hot, we will not appear at the level we want or should. So, setting the heat and setting the core temperature in some cases could be critical and vital to appearing at a high level," Friedrich said.

He said cold ice showers and towels were often used by athletes but were not always effective. A recent study suggests further research is needed to prove the effectiveness of cold water immersion practices. Friedrich said CoolMitts have made a difference. "They (athletes) feel that at the end of the game they still have the energy or strength in their feet as they were at the beginning," he said. "That means a lot, both for psychological performance and output and actual performance."