The Atlanta 1996 Olympics marked a turning point in the equestrian world’s approach to competing in challenging thermal climates, particularly with respect to the Summer Olympics were there is no option to schedule to avoid hot months of the year due to the fixed calendar. The U.S. equestrian community and researchers, supported by the USEF and USEA, played a major role in the FEI’s International collaborative research effort aimed at creating a knowledge base on equine thermoregulation and travel. Dr. Marlin was fortunate to be closely involved with both UK and U.S. groups of researchers and that research output and experience has facilitated my role as the FEI’s Climate Mitigation Advisor at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and Tokyo 2020. The FEI’s priorities for managing competitions in thermally challenging climates are first, horse and rider safety and welfare, and secondly, that no competitor should be disadvantaged by the conditions. In this presentation Dr. Marlin explains how our experience since Atlanta 1996 has grown and how this was implemented in Tokyo 2020 to run a safe and successful Olympic Games.
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