TOKYO – Images of pouring rain during several athletics events held at the Olympics Stadium, including the discus, pole vault and women’s hurdles and episodes of extreme humidity suffered by athletes on the tennis courts were some of the images seen during the course of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
When it came to a torrential downpour, the first in a series of athletic events to be delayed were the women’s discus, where a number of casualties arose, including that of Portuguese athlete Liliana Cá, who slipped during her attempt as well as American gold medal winner, Valarie Allman, who was seen taking refuge from the pelting rain.
As officials were called in to dry out the technical area, athletes competing in the women’s 400m hurdles were seen jumping and running amidst the downpour. Olympic officials were called out to stop the competition due to the ‘dangerous’ conditions after Denmark’s Sara Slott Petersen ended up lying on the track after stumbling and falling in the rain.
This is after complaints abounded over the excessive heat and humidity faced by athletes, such as Spain’s Paula Badosa, who had to be wheeled off the tennis court due to heatstroke and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who felt that he would ‘die’ on the court if he continued to play.
The Russian athlete, along with fellow tennis player, Novak Djokovic, had strongly voiced their criticism and petitioned the Olympic officials to schedule the tennis matches later in the day in order to escape the sweltering heat as temperatures in Tokyo rose to hit highs of 31 degrees Celsius on a consistent basis. – The Vibes, August 5, 2021
