Collapsing on the track made me want to speak up on climate, says Olympian Rhydian Cowley
‘I use solar power at home. I am reducing the amount of meat I eat. I’m not perfect, I hope to provide others with an example of action,’ Cowley says.
Every step a race-walker takes is calculated, down to the finer twists of the joints. Which is why Rhydian Cowley was taken aback when it all fell apart.
He was midway through a 35-km race at the 2023 World Athletic Championships, in Budapest. He had been worried about the temperature and humidity. (The race started at 22 degrees Celsius and 81% humidity and finished at 28 degrees Celsius C and 60% humidity, in harsh, direct sun, he says).
Suddenly, he found himself on the ground. He tried to hoist himself up using the side rails, but he could barely stand. He had suffered a heat stroke.
“It is scarier to reflect on the moment now,” he says, “because you realise how vulnerable you were.”
To the 34-year-old Australian, the experience was a reminder that extreme weather is still a danger, even when you think you’re prepared, because of the way elite athletes are taught to push themselves.
(Click here to see what heat does to an athlete. Click hereto see what heat can do to us all — and the science of why humans are particularly vulnerable.)
Cowley has since incorporated heat conditioning into his training.
He prepared for his third Olympic appearance, at the Paris Games, with acclimatisation sessions in a heat chamber. Ahead of a race in high temperatures or high humidity, he now implements pre-cooling steps. Typically, these include immersion in cold water, consuming cold beverages, wearing a cooling vest, and hyper-hydration (flooding one’s system with fluids), just before a race, to delay exhaustion, dehydration and other effects.
Perhaps more than anything, Cowley says, the 2023 race sharpened his resolve to talk about the climate crisis.
It was something he had started to do in the wake of the Australian bushfires of 2019-20, which engulfed cities such as Melbourne and Sydney in smoke. “The fires interrupted everything — cricket and tennis tournaments, my training. Ignoring this phenomenon was no longer an option... We called it the Black Summer,” he says.
He reached out to Bush Heritage Australia, and began to work with the non-profit organisation to help raise funds for conservation. He began to speak at schools, colleges and sports institutes.
He realised he would need to address the fact that athletes typically have a higher-than-average footprint, given their extensive travel, diets, mountains of gear, and the footprints of large events themselves, among other factors. And so he does, in every talk.
“I use solar power at home. I am reducing the amount of meat I eat. Although I am not perfect, I hope to provide others with an example of action,” he says.
Cowley also began to work with EcoAthletes, a non-profit organisation established in the US in 2020, to help athletes speak up on climate change.
Athletes have historically championed important issues and shaped movements, says founder Lewis Blaustein, a business development and communications consultant.
Tennis star Billie Jean King advocated for gender equality in sport; Jesse Owens and Muhammad Ali joined the fight for civil rights; footballer Colin Kaepernick was the first to take a knee, to protest police brutality and anti-Black violence.
“When it comes to climate, athletes often fear it’s ‘too political’ or ‘too sciencey’ to get into. Many fear being branded a hypocrite, given their own high carbon footprints,” Blaustein says.
EcoAthletes helps by offering mentorship on climate education and communication, and guidance on how to express an idea clearly in interviews and online.
“We are currently working with 184 athletes,” Blaustein says. The idea is to capitalise on the great sway sportspeople hold, particularly with young people. “We want to find and nudge the Billie Jean Kings and Muhammad Alis of climate action.”
Cowley says the organisation has given him a sense of community.
“For me, two of the main challenges when speaking out about climate and sport have been figuring out how to do it effectively, and allocating enough time and energy to feel like my involvement is consistent, effective but also sustainable to maintain. Having a team of athletes from a variety of sports and countries, who you know share your concerns, makes it much easier,” he says.
He now feels more confident about communicating information to organisers, friends and family and, crucially, to fans. “There are fans who are concerned about this, but feel overwhelmed by it,” Cowley says. “The hope is that seeing their favourite sportsperson talk about and be part of climate action will empower them too.”
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