Through a series of reports over a six year BASIS has helped combined climate science and cutting-edge analysis to create and drive the debate on climate change and sport. These reports include Game Changer I and Game Changer II.
Following the publication of Hit for Six in 2019, the late great Shane Warne said “before I’d seen the report I hadn’t really thought about how climate change would impact the game of cricket. I was really taken aback. I think we all have to admit now that climate change is a huge issue.”
Ahead of the Tokyo Games, Rings of Fire analysed the impact of climate change on the Olympics – especially the risks to athletes competing in extreme heat.
Today, n partnership with Climate Central and Front Runners, we will publish Rings of Fire II – which builds on the original report to centralise the perspectives and concerns of athletes competing at the Paris Olympics starting next month.
The report is strictly embargoed until 00.01 tomorrow, Tuesday 18th June, but as a valued BASIS member we wanted to give you an exclusive preview.
As you will see, the report brings the views of 11 Olympians – including winners of five World Championships and six Olympic medals – together with climate scientists and leading heat physiologists to unpack the serious threat extreme heat poses to world class athletes.
It includes:
- Analysis to show that the average temperature in Paris has risen by 3.1°C since 1924, the year of the last Olympics in France.
- The UN’s prediction that 2024 is on track to the hottest year ever, and Europe is the fastest-warming continent on the planet.
- A foreword from Lord Seb Coe, President of World Athletics, in which he warns that “with global temperatures continuing to rise, climate change should increasingly be viewed as an existential threat to sport”
Athletes from across 15 sports express their concerns about the dangers to performance, health and even the fear of heat-related deaths.
We hear from:
- Pragnya Mohan, the highest-ever ranked Indian triathlete who spoke at the BASIS Conference, described “scary” dangers “that can be fatal” as “your body feels like it’s shutting down”.
- Olympic bronze medal tennis player Marcus Daniell reported that “at [the Tokyo Olympics] I felt like the heat was bordering on true risk – the type of risk that could potentially be fatal. One of the best tennis players in the world [Daniil Medvedev] said he thought someone might die in Tokyo, and I don’t feel like that was much of an exaggeration. This is not fun or healthy.”
- Team GB Rugby 7s player Jamie Farndale, who says “We push ourselves to our limits, and if we have to do so in conditions that are unsafe I don’t think the athlete would hold back. It is not in an athlete’s DNA to stop and if the conditions are too dangerous I do think there is a risk of fatalities.”
The report is exclusively available to BASIS members now via this link, and when the embargo lifts it will be live on the BASIS website at https://basis.org.uk/resource/rings-of-fire-2/
Like our other reports, we anticipate that Rings of Fire II will receive significant media coverage, and we will be sharing highlights from the report on social media throughout the day. Please keep your eye on our LinkedIn and X (Twitter) feeds to share and join the conversation – and if you haven’t already signed up to our Rings of Fire II webinar next month, then please do.
We all understand how critical the voices of athletes are in bringing climate change alive for fans and the wider public, and BASIS is absolutely clear on the need to protect their welfare as they are compelled to compete in ever-more extreme conditions.
We hope this report shines a light on the risks they face, and steps we need to take to protect athletes and the sports they compete in. We also hope it will offer another valuable contribution to vital debate, and create the space for you to take brilliant sustainability action already underway across the BASIS community to the next level.