Dr Harry Lim, senior sports psychologist from the Singapore Sport Institute, is on the ground in Paris to help spot any signs of stress.
"The fact that it also happens once every four years - everybody's trying to peak at the right time,” he told CNA.
“So (we are) getting our athletes prepared, not just for peaking but also for qualifications.”
Dr Lim has been conducting regular consultations and surveys to understand their needs, and will serve as their listening ear if they run into issues.
He added that the Olympics comes with the challenges of both qualifying and performing at the global Games.
“How we manage this whole process (is) by making sure that athletes are able to peak once to qualify, and then also peak again at the Olympics itself, to be able to produce their best performance,” he said.
Besides battling their opponents, athletes will also have to contend with July’s summer heat.
This year’s Games is predicted to be the warmest on record, according to the French official weather agency Meteo-France. Paris has been struck by a series of record heat waves in recent years.
A report released last month warned that conditions in Paris could be worse than the last Games in Tokyo in 2021.
As part of preparations for the weather, Team Singapore athletes can train in an environmental chamber in Singapore to get used to temperature changes.
While in Paris, they can also wear ice vests or soak in ice baths to keep themselves cool.
"We can go from very cold, like five degrees Celsius, all the way up to 40 degrees Celsius (in this chamber),” said Singapore Sport Institute’s sport physiologist Kester Choo.
“We can also manipulate the humidity to mimic somewhat dry, hot weather like in Paris. We can also mimic very warm and humid (conditions) like in Tokyo, so that allows us some flexibility in preparing our athletes to compete in different environmental conditions,” Dr Choo added.
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"The fact that it also happens once every four years - everybody's trying to peak at the right time,” he told CNA.
“So (we are) getting our athletes prepared, not just for peaking but also for qualifications.”
Dr Lim has been conducting regular consultations and surveys to understand their needs, and will serve as their listening ear if they run into issues.
He added that the Olympics comes with the challenges of both qualifying and performing at the global Games.
“How we manage this whole process (is) by making sure that athletes are able to peak once to qualify, and then also peak again at the Olympics itself, to be able to produce their best performance,” he said.
BEATING THE HEAT
Besides battling their opponents, athletes will also have to contend with July’s summer heat.
This year’s Games is predicted to be the warmest on record, according to the French official weather agency Meteo-France. Paris has been struck by a series of record heat waves in recent years.
A report released last month warned that conditions in Paris could be worse than the last Games in Tokyo in 2021.
As part of preparations for the weather, Team Singapore athletes can train in an environmental chamber in Singapore to get used to temperature changes.
While in Paris, they can also wear ice vests or soak in ice baths to keep themselves cool.
"We can go from very cold, like five degrees Celsius, all the way up to 40 degrees Celsius (in this chamber),” said Singapore Sport Institute’s sport physiologist Kester Choo.
“We can also manipulate the humidity to mimic somewhat dry, hot weather like in Paris. We can also mimic very warm and humid (conditions) like in Tokyo, so that allows us some flexibility in preparing our athletes to compete in different environmental conditions,” Dr Choo added.
Continue reading...