“We have never encountered such conditions before”

August 21, 2019

      “We have never encountered such conditions before”
      In a material distributed today by the press service of the All-Russian Federal Border Guard Service, the head coach of the Russian national team, Natalya Ivanova, talks about the challenges facing the Russian delegation in Enoshima (Japan):

“We have never encountered such conditions before”

In the pre-Olympic week, we have eight athletes. Plus, Yevgeny Ayvazyan (RS: X) is training here, ”Ivanova began. – The weather is very hot, with very high humidity – incredibly difficult conditions both physically and functionally. None of our team has ever come across this. Until now, the hottest event was held in Oman – the integrated world championship, but it was dry there, so everything was much easier.

Exhausting weather conditions greatly affect the result, in this regard, the process of acclimatization is of great importance. Our children’s temporary acclimatization is quite easy and quick – literally two or three days and everyone feels normal, who have entered the rhythm. But acclimatization to weather conditions is very difficult. Now, by the second half of the regatta, everyone feels incredibly tired, everyone is already losing their nerves … But I must say, some of our guys are coping with the situation simply heroically.

Stefania Elfutina is probably the one who suffers the most from the heat. This is due to the specifics of the RS: X class, in which it is allowed to "row" in a weak wind. In a strong wind, when athletes are wet from the water, it’s easier. And in the weak … Other classes in a weak wind do not work very physically – there the head should think, not overheat.

The team is located in Japan with a large scientific group that conducts a variety of research. The project is called “Adaptation”. This is a project of the Russian Olympic Committee. Research is being conducted in order to most successfully plan the final stage of preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games. To know the individual characteristics of each athlete in order to derive some patterns.

Take a concentration of attention – we have deduced a clear pattern. One group arrived in Japan on July 26 for the 470 World Cup, another flew on August 8. So, between them there was a huge difference in the first four days. Especially the morning state was very different.

Functional monitoring in progress. So, a control test was made of all the guys before flying here, and now experts are observing on what day the athletes will come to their basic condition, which was normal for them in Moscow.

The body temperature of athletes is also constantly measured – non-stop 24 hours a day. And I must say that in the RS: X class, when athletes are on the water, their body temperature rises above 39.5 degrees, which is very dangerous. This is also evident in the athletes: after one of the races, Stephanie was simply in a half-fainting state. There were even thoughts, if she did not feel better, to abandon the next race. Stefania is not the only one – with several riders it was the same. We have never encountered such conditions of athletes during competitions.

For this reason, two meetings of the medical commission were held. And the coaches – including us – fought for the organizers to allow athletes to at least not wear vests and T-shirts that the organizers provide during the races. In order to somehow lower, at least by a degree, body temperature. As a result, the racing instruction was changed, and Stephanie said that it had become much easier.

I hope that the organizers will take this experience into account at the Olympic Games. We share our data with the medical commission of the international federation in order to protect athletes from risk together.

As for the water area of ​​Enoshima itself, it is also very specific. We are talking with many foreign colleagues, and everyone, even those with serious meteorologists working, the same Danes, say that it is very difficult to predict the weather here. Strong racers suddenly show weak results, and their coaches are perplexed, do not understand what is happening. Most riders, even leaders, are simply lost …

Local features (a very rugged coastline) have a great influence on local weather conditions, plus there are also such strong factors as warmed up mainland Asia and the ocean. That is, global processes are underway and local features are superimposed on them.

We conduct research, make our measurements, try to derive some patterns. We study forecasts and provide the integrated scientific group with data on what was in reality at a distance. We check everything, try to find out which forecasts work better, what is the error, in which direction the shift, and so on.

Plus, in Enoshima a very, very, very unusual wave. For example, after the typhoon, which took place on the first race day of the pre-Olympic week, the wave was such that some riders, for example, in windsurfing, simply fell – it was too hard. Not our racers, thank God … But the same Elfutina says that it’s very difficult to control the board because of the very steep wave. The guys who do not add up to the race complain that they can not adapt to such conditions.

Conclusion: in Enoshima, you need to spend a lot of time – train, train and train. Teams that have this opportunity have been doing this for a long time. We, in turn, plan next year before the Olympic Games at least one more race in Enoshima. So I hope that our athletes will still have the opportunity to "ride".

We plan to prepare for the next year taking these circumstances into account – we select places similar to this area. And even during the winter training we will try to simulate such a wave. There are several places with more or less similar conditions, we will try to include them in the preparation plan.

As for the sports part of the Enoshima regatta, the most powerful riders came here – about 90% of those who will play at the 2020 Games. This is a very good opportunity to see the balance of power at the moment. There is still time to fix something, to make a breakthrough somewhere, which we will try to do next year.

239 August 21, 2019 # 9399
                                                    
      
    

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