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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/may/05/how-climate-crisis-is-changing-sport-extract>
"The drive from the tiny Eldoret airport to the town of Iten in the south-west
corner of Kenya takes about an hour. It’s a winding unlit road with few road
signs: you need to know where you’re going to get there. The town’s population
isn’t known – there hasn’t been a census in more than a decade – but the local
municipal authority estimates it around 56,000, up from 40,024 in 2009.
Roughly 35% live below the poverty line. And yet, a sign on the only paved road
into town calls this the Home of Champions, owing to its phenomenal athletic
success. This corner of Kenya has produced 14 men’s and nine women’s Boston
Marathon winners since 1991, who have brought home 22 and 14 wins,
respectively. They have also won 13 of 18 gold medals in the 3,000m
steeplechase at the World Athletics Championships since the event was
introduced in 1983.
Nearby, in Kaptagat, a rural town less than one hour’s drive from Iten, some of
the fastest distance runners in the world live and train. These towns are
similar. Life here is simple; there are few distractions, running is revered,
long clay roads provide perfect running surfaces, and at 2,400 meters above sea
level, they offer ideal high-altitude training conditions. But these conditions
may not last.
Throughout east Africa, the most obvious climate hazards are drought, extreme
heat, floods in some parts, and associated biodiversity loss. According to
professor Vincent Onywera, the vice-chancellor for research, innovation and
outreach at Kenyatta University, who has studied Kenyan runners most of his
professional career, the climate crisis could seriously affect injury trends
and performance. “I expect injuries to go up as droughts make clay roads harder
than pavement and the impact on knees and hips takes its toll.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
