ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 29, 1996 TAG: 9607010005
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SERIES: 1996 Olympics
SOURCE: THOMAS HEATH THE WASHINGTON POST
PRESSURE TO WIN medals won't be the only heat on athletes in Atlanta.
Pam Hixon prays for the hottest, heaviest, stickiest, most-stifling weather that Atlanta can muster for this summer's Olympic Games. She prays for sunshine. She prays for humidity. No cool breezes please. No cloud cover.
After a grueling year training in Atlanta, members of the U.S. Women's Olympic field hockey team believe they have defeated their most formidable opponent in the upcoming Games - the feared Georgia heat. Now they hope this summer gets scorching enough to melt the medal hopes of their opponents.
``The hotter the better,'' says Hixon, the team's coach.
The relentless Georgia heat, with its 80-percent humidity and 90-degree days, is likely to play a big role in determining winners and losers among the 10,000 athletes expected to compete.
Basketball players and gymnasts who perform in air-conditioned comfort don't have much to worry about. But the athletes who compete in the outdoor sports such as tennis, soccer, baseball, track and field, rowing and cycling must deal with the grueling weather. Many have been training in the Southeast United States to get their bodies acclimated.
Hot weather not only affects performance, it also can cause serious health problems, including death. Already, health officials are warning spectators as well as athletes to come prepared for the heat and humidity.
Teams from more than 90 countries have practiced at 65 locations throughout Georgia, taking over small colleges and turning up at remote tracks.
``I don't think people realize the extremities of [the heat in Atlanta] ... the low energy level, the dizziness, pounding headaches and drenching sweat,'' said Kate Kauffman, a 21-year-old field hockey defender and member of the U.S. Olympic team. ``If you haven't experienced it, you don't know what to expect.''
Atlanta also is entirely air-conditioned, which will create a double whammy for athletes who aren't used to the revolving-door shocks of a 68-degree room one minute and 90-degree outdoor temperature the next.
Athletes say the heat has totally changed their lifestyles, affecting their eating habits and even sleeping patterns as they try to make it no more bothersome than a stiff muscle.
Some weigh every ounce of sweat. Some have calibrated secret water solutions for fighting dehydration. Water bottles are everywhere. And the words of the day both begin with H: ``humidity'' and ``hydration.''
But more than the heat, it's the overpowering humidity that has many athletes troubled. Breathing deeply can cause coughing. Afternoon showers produce steam. Hixon said she was stunned when her team walked into the Atlanta humidity one year ago.
``It was beyond my comprehension,'' says the Boston native. ``It's like a sauna. The air just sits on your skin.''
Since the humidity slows down the evaporation of sweat from the skin, it can turn off the cooling system of even the best-conditioned athletes. And when it gets that hot, says Peter A. Kot, professor of physiology at Georgetown University Medical School, fans are not terribly effective because they simply circulate the same warm air around the body.
Athletes compensate for the humidity by drinking gallons of water often packed with electrolytes. They can also rest under umbrellas and occasionally seek relief from portable ``Cloud Bursts,'' small shelters that contain misting sprays and offer temporary comfort from the heat.
Marathoner Risto Ulmala of Finland spent four weeks training in Atlanta during the past year and plans to head to southern Florida in late June to help adjust to the humidity. Ulmala, 33, said he drank so much water that he lost his appetite. And without food, he has no carbohydrates to fuel his long-distance runs.
Kauffman said she was drinking so much water that she ended up running to the bathroom every 15 minutes during the night. Some of her teammates got diarrhea and stopped eating.
But for some, the heat is their friend.
``My body works better in the humidity,'' said Chris Huffins, 28, a decathlete from Berkeley, Calif. ``I feel looser, my muscles are more supple.''
``The sprinters tend to like it hot because it loosens up the muscles and they don't have to run far,'' said Derek Mills, a Georgia Tech graduate who is ranked third in the world in the 400-meter dash.
Others think that long-distance runners and some athletes in field events will be hurt because they will be under the sun longer and are more susceptible to dehydration.
``It will make people slower in the distance runs, 5,000 meter, 10,000 meter and marathon,'' said Alan Drosky, a track coach at Georgia Tech.
Hixon also believes the heat will be her friend and ally. A battery of physiologists helped her measure how much her field hockey players moved during practices at Clark Atlanta University, where the Olympic competition will take place. Her scientists examined how quickly the players tired, when they needed to rest and when they went for drinks.
Result: a strategy of more substitutions.
Any athlete loses weight because of sweat, but Hixon found that there is a threshold of around 2 percent of body weight that can't be crossed. Every halftime now becomes a guzzling session so her players stay at their peak for all 70 minutes of competition.
The idea is to wear down the opponents mentally and physically.
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: chart - The hottest Games yet. color AP KEYWORDS: MGRby CNB