Svetlana Gomboeva couldn’t endure the sweltering heat in Tokyo during the archery qualifying events and had to be evacuated on a stretcher.
A member of the Russian Olympic Committee, with Russia officially suspended from international competitions, Svetlana Gomboeva (23) was the victim of the hot weather that hit the Japanese capital. She passed out during a qualifying event, where the heat had caused coaches and staff to take refuge under the trees for shade.
Svetlana Gomboeva collapsed as she was checking her final scores and needed help from staff and teammates who put ice packs on her head to cool her down. After recovering, the young archer was evacuated on a stretcher below 33 degrees from Yumenoshima Stadium.
«Turns out she couldn’t stand a whole day in the heat», Declared his trainer Stanislav Popov. Before adding: “This is the first time, from what I can remember, that this has happened. In Vladivostok, where we trained before, the weather was similar. But humidity played a role here.»
The athlete said she would resume competition. “I feel good, my head hurts a lot. I can and I will shoot!Reassures Gomboeva, who finished the 45th round out of 64 archers, in her Instagram story. Her teammate Ksenia Perova was also reassuring: “Sveta is with us, she feels good.»
Andrei Zholinsky, chief medical officer of the Russian Olympic team, said the cause of his fainting was heatstroke and that they would change his hydration and rest regimen.
With temperatures expected to peak around 33 degrees Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) on the shooting range on day one of competition, the athletes faced challenges in hydration and cooling. Participants gathered under awnings and in the shade of trees, while watching the competition.
South Korean Kang Chaeyoung, who placed third, said she had not experienced anything like Tokyo’s scorching conditions in other competitions. Australian Alice Ingley gave some advice to her fellow competitors on how to beat the heat: “Cooling vest, soft drinks, fans, umbrellas, all of that, just try to stay out of the heat as much as possible. And drink as much water as possible!»
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