"About to Collapse Trying to Cut Carbon"…Athletes Scream on Scorching Bus [Paris Olympics]

No Air Conditioning on Buses to Reduce Carbon Emissions
Windows Sealed Due to Terrorism Risk, Longer Travel Times
Players Collapse in Heat Hotter Than Outside

The 2024 Paris Olympics, which has declared "reducing carbon footprint" as a core mission, will not install air conditioning in the athletes' village and will provide mainly vegetarian meals. Amid this, the shuttle buses that serve as the athletes' transportation are not using air conditioning, causing difficulties for the athletes in managing their condition.

On the 25th (local time), Kim Woo-min, a member of the Korean national swimming team, met with reporters after morning training at the La D?fense swimming pool in Paris, France, and said, "I heard that an athlete from another country collapsed after getting off the bus." On that day, the Korean team arrived at the swimming pool more than 30 minutes later than scheduled, losing that much training time.

2024 Paris Olympic Swimming Team members Kim Woo-min (left) and Hwang Sun-woo
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Kim Woo-min said, "The bus is too hot. They even blocked the windows so we can't open them. A few days ago, the bus went into a narrow alley by mistake and got damaged. It also goes around in circles entering strange places."

Hwang Sun-woo also said, "I heard that story too," adding, "The athletes' village has air coolers, so it's actually okay. The problem is the bus. It's like a sauna." He continued, "The intervals between buses are long. The travel time is around 40 minutes, but because of waiting time, you have to allow 1 hour and 30 minutes. This means it takes 3 hours just for commuting."

While the shuttle bus system is not operating smoothly, the lack of air conditioning has made the athletes on the bus suffer. Despite these adverse conditions, Kim Woo-min and Hwang Sun-woo are fully prepared to compete for medals. Kim Woo-min will compete in the men's 400m freestyle swimming event on the 27th. Hwang Sun-woo will start his 200m and 100m races from the 28th. Both have decided to postpone watching the opening ceremony on the 26th to maintain their best condition for the competition.