With less than eight months to go until the 2020 Olympics, High Performance Sport NZ athletes are using a state-of-the-art heat chamber to replicate the sweltering conditions expected.
The chamber is preparing Kiwi athletes for what is expected to be the hottest Games ever.
"This can be an absolute game-changer for Japan," says 49er FX sailor Molly Meech.
Next year's Games are expected to see temperatures soar past 40 degrees and humidity as high as 90 percent.
"Things that we miss could cost us at the games," says HPSNZ Tokyo heat strategist Julia Casadio.
"We're very thorough with monitoring and making sure we nail everything in this regard."
The sailing team have already experienced just how tough Japanese conditions are, after a rigorous Olympic trial regatta earlier this year.
"We've had days where we've had the first race and I'm just sitting in the bottom of the boat, hoping we don't have to do a second one," says sailor Sam Meech.
Molly Meech is confident this work will help them go one better than their silver in Rio.
"We've seen other teams struggling and people are talking about the heat. It's going to be a key factor, being able to control how you react in the heat.
For those leading the heat strategy, ensuring they can replicate the unique challenges of each different event is vital in their preparation for the sweltering conditions.
"The type of event highly dictates what we do with them in the chamber," says Casadio. "For some sports like sailing, we can't replicate sailing in there, but it does compliment their other training."
The competition will be tight in Tokyo and ensuring athletes can first beat the heat is a vital step in their pursuit of Olympic glory.
Newshub.
