How DOES altitude impact performance?
If you have ever traveled between locations of significantly different altitudes and tried to do any sort of physical activity, then you know that a change in altitude has a significant impact how you breathe and process oxygen. The higher up you go, the thinner the air gets.
As an athlete, you have two things to think about.
Air Resistance
You may have heard that Denver is a great place to hit a home run — that is because the ball has less wind resistance there than it would in, say, Milwaukee.
When you translate that to the Olympics, what that means is that if you have been training at altitude — say the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs — and then go to Vancouver which is more or less at sea level, you will have increased drag which will slow you down. When you look historically at the Olympic speed events, many record were set in Salt Lake City, which was — you guessed it — at 4,300 feet.
Wind drag also means that our snowboards, freestyle skiiers, and jumpers will need to be hyper-aware of how the change in drag affects their turns, spins, and landings.
Aerobic Capacity
Altitude training is a big deal for climbers and anyone who is going to be competing at a altitude different from where they live and train. When I climb Kili this fall, we have an extra day built in about halfway up the mountain SOLELY so our bodies can adapt to the thinner air. There are a few different protocols for training for altitude, but for our Olympians, those who are coming to sea level should have better aerobic capacity than those who have been living and training at sea level.
I’m going to be curious to see how the speed events unfold over the coming days and see if the air resistance is the bigger issue — as is largely predicted. What do you think?
