TOKYO (Reuters) – As competitors battled for the podium on the third day of Olympic athletics on Sunday, it was Tokyo’s stunning heat that perhaps dished out the most pain.
Punishing conditions greeted the athletes as a trackside thermometer in the open, placed about 50 metres from the finish line, touched 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) and the humidity hovered around 60%, with sun beating down on the fan-free Olympic Stadium.
In the sweat- and heat-soaked press tribune, reporters donned wet towels as the women’s 3,000 metre steeplechase qualifier played out on the track, the event’s trademark water hazard appearing more enticing than ever.
A spokesperson for World Athletics did not have an immediate comment on the conditions.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Himani Sarkar)