Ice jackets helping Team GB rowers keep their cool amid 34°C heat in Tokyo – the hottest weather conditions at an Olympic Games since Beijing 2008… as John Collins admit they ‘take your breath away, but have made a hell of a difference’
Team GB‘s rowers are being provided with ice jackets so they can quickly cool down after racing in the stifling heat.
The first individual athletes to compete for Great Britain at these Olympics rowed in 93°F (34°C) on Friday — the hottest conditions at a Games since Beijing 2008.
And Team GB are taking no chances with their stars, handing them state-of-the-art vests as soon as they get off the water to bring their body temperature down.
Team GB rowers are being given special ice jackets to combat the Tokyo heat reaching 34°C
Team GB’s rowers are having to battle against the hottest onditions at a Games since Beijing
‘It takes your breath away,’ admitted John Collins, who finished second in his doubles sculls heat with Graeme Thomas to reach Saturday’s semi-finals.
‘It brings your core temperature down, and within 15 minutes you feel like you are back to normal temperature. ‘They have made a hell of a difference.’
This was Thomas’s Olympics debut — he suffered heartbreak at Rio 2016 when he was forced to pull out of the quadruple sculls after falling ill in Brazil.
‘It felt very emotional,’ he said. ‘There were tears. There has been anxiety leading up to this. Now I can call myself an Olympian and the job is now winning a medal for GB with John.’
John Collins say the jackets take your breath away but have made a ‘hell of a difference’
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