After so many years of hard work and preparation, the world-class athletes who arrive for the Paris Olympics next month could face one final hurdle before they vie for medals: figuring out how to stay cool.
As a part of a publicly stated goal to make these the “greenest” Olympics ever, Paris 2024 organizers chose to forgo conventional air conditioning in the athletes’ village. Instead, an extensive system of water pipes beneath the floorboards of the dorm-style residences have been installed to provide cool air — or at least air that won’t top 79 degrees Fahrenheit, even amid a heat wave.
But those conditions aren’t mild enough for many national federations, including the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which plans to outfit its athletes’ rooms with portable air conditioning units.
A spokesman for the U.S.O.P.C., who acknowledged that many other countries, including Germany, Australia, Canada and Britain, had made the same call, described it as a “high-performance decision.” Translation: With so much at stake, Olympians cannot afford to melt into pools of high-octane muscle fiber in the days and hours ahead of their competitions.
“It’s a short window of time and continuity is important to the athletes,” the U.S.O.P.C. spokesman said.
