Tokyo 2020 chiefs have been testing misting sprays and air-conditioned tents to combat soaring temperatures.
Last year a heatwave in the city killed more than a dozen people and on Thursday organisers tested ways to keep people cool at an international volleyball event - in case temperatures soar at next year’s Games.
With one year to go, 150 volunteers queued to trial the cooling measures. Supporters were also given fans and towels to keep them cool.
“We cannot control the climate. We must deal with it based on facts and reality,” Tokyo 2020 Games delivery officer Hidemasa Nakamura said. “Even creating shadows or mist, it’s difficult to cover the entire area.”
Fire engine-sized misting stations pumping out sprays of water, air-conditioned cooling tents and potted flower fences that organisers say help ‘psychologically’ cool those around were trialled and Tokyo 2020 organisers will employ wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) measuring devices at all venues.
Ken Wakabayashi, an environment official at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said: “It all depends on a situation, but for the spectators, we will prepare cooling facilities and goods for them.
“At the same time, we would like to encourage them to get information on heat countermeasure and enjoy the event.”
Meanwhile, It will take female athletes “being thrown under the bus” at Tokyo 2020 before changes are made to transgender rules, says ex-swimmer Sharron Davies.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidelines state that transgender women must suppress testosterone levels for at least 12 months before the competition. But in March, Davies and others wrote to the IOC calling for more research.
In Tokyo, Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand could become the first transgender female to win an Olympic medal. The 41-year-old weightlifter won two golds at the Pacific Games earlier in July.
After Samoa’s Commonwealth Games champion Feagaiga Stowers missed out on a medal, Hubbard’s participation was criticised. An Olympic silver medallist in 1980, Davies — who said she has had no response from the IOC since writing to it — says the body is conducting a ‘live experiment’.
The Briton told BBC Sport: “I find it extraordinary that [Hubbard winning medals] is where we have to go before the IOC open their eyes. I’m positive things will change but the problem is we will be throwing females under the bus before it does change.”
Transgender women in sport is a hotly debated topic, with former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova and transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon among those who have entered the discussion.
