By Larry Lombaard
Silencing the zing of mosquitoes and the wearing of chilly jumpers are going to be vital to retain a keen competitive edge among South Africa's Olympians in the intense heat and humidity of Athens from the moment they arrive at the Olympic Village on Wednesday.
"Mozzie" repellants and chilly jumpers are high on a long list of items that the SA Olympic medical team have built into their operations to ensure that the athletes get enough rest and overcome heat that is expected to touch on 40 degrees C and 80 percent humidity in the bustling Olympic city.
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"Overcoming the heat and ensuring good recovery are crucial for our athletes in their preparation and competition," said Wayne Derman, professor of sports medicine at the University of Cape Town's Sports Science Institute who heads the SA Olympic medical team.
"And the Chilly Jumper is going to be a key element in achieving this."
The chilly jumper contains a special coolant gel and fits like a flak jacket to prevent over-heating of the body.
"We have 25 of these jackets to be used on a rotational basis," said Derman. "They will be especially useful for our hockey players during breaks in training and competition. The chilly jumpers reduce skin temperature from 37 to 24 degrees in five minutes - which is phenomenal because the body can only store so much heat before breaking down."
The jumpers would also be useful for individual athletes like Hestrie Cloete, Jacques Freitag, Frantz Kruger and Janus Robberts who may need to cool down during jumps or throws if conditions are boiling inside the Olympic Stadium.
"Mosquitoes also pose a problem, especially if they threaten to keep our athletes awake at night," said Derman. "We have an advance party at the Village in Athens right now and we are waiting for a report from them.
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