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Indian triathlete Pragnya Mohan, a professional triathlete for a decade, spoke extensively at a panel discussion of the United Nations climate talks in Baku about how summers in India are now so hot that she cannot train there any more, reported Associated Press.
Mohan left India to train in the United Kingdom, but worried about a day “when a warming world kills my sport entirely.”
South China Post newspaper ran a story on the same day saying temperatures touching 50 degrees could pose a problem for India’s bid to host 2036 Olympics.
One of three athletes who spoke at the UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan she joined American discus thrower Sam Mattis and New Zealand football player Katie Rood to speak about the threat that climate change poses to sport.
“In the future, if climate change is not addressed and is not thoughtfully handled, triathlons can cease to exist,” Mohan said at the panel discussion. “It’s not all about heat.” Mohan was quoted as saying by Associated Press that this year’s Paris Olympics had to delay some triathlon events because heavy rains – which have increased as a warming atmosphere holds more water – contributed to high bacteria levels in the Seine River.
Climate change is also severely impacting athletes health. Tina Muir, a former English elite runner, added that athletes are conditioned to push themselves beyond their limits, but the last year has been unprecedented and a warning for sport. “It’s going to be almost like a war of attrition for many athletes,” Muir was quoted by AP. “It’s who can handle these tough conditions the most. … but also becomes a bit of a safety game, being able to tough it out but doing long-term damage to yourself in the process.”
