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Skin cancer smackdown
Which Olympic athletes are the
most vulnerable to UV rays?
By Nicole Madigan
I
n an effort to encourage greater sun
protection by elite athletes participating
in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,
University of Southern Queensland
researcher Nathan Downs has embarked
on a world-first study to determine which
outdoor sporting disciplines pose the
highest risk of skin cancer.
Downs says that while the increased
temperatures caused by global warming
resulted in heightened risks for professional
athletes, the skin cancer message was not
getting through.
“I worry that skin cancer prevention
messages are not being presented
frequently enough to make an impact on
what is a significant problem,” Downs says.
“Raising awareness with regards to the
Olympics can make a difference to the
athletes who compete, but importantly
it can also make a difference to those
members of the public who take an active
interest in sport."
The study, published in the Taylor &
Francis journal Temperature, found that
the winner of the women’s singles tennis
tournament will receive the highest levels
of UV rays, followed by the gold medallist
for men’s golf, and the winner of the men’s
cycling road race.
Tennis, golf and cycling require athletes
to be outside and exposed to the sun for
long periods of time during the hottest
parts of the day, putting them at severe risk
of sunburn, which is known to increase the
risk of skin cancer.
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Downs says athletes with fair skin
who don’t wear sunscreen can expect
considerable sunburn when competing
in singles tennis, golf, the cycling road
race, beach volleyball, hockey, rugby, the
decathlon, the triathlon, football, softball
and the 10km marathon swim.
“The winner of the women’s singles
tennis will have to compete in six rounds,
many of which will be at peak midday,”
says Downs, who is also a senior lecturer in
mathematics at USQ.
“Golfers must also compete in four daytime
rounds, and the winner of the men’s cycling
road race can also expect to be exposed
to sunlight for at least six hours, with other
competitors being outside for even longer.”
To calculate the total sun exposure that
each gold medal winner of the 144 outdoor
events will receive over the duration of
the 2020 games, Downs used satellite
data on cloud cover, ozone and aerosol
concentrations to create a model of the
ambient UV environment that athletes will
be exposed to in Tokyo.
He then looked at what time of day the
events are usually held, and how long they
tend to last.
Footage of Rio 2016 was viewed to
determine what type of clothing is usually
worn by competitors, and whether they
compete on grass, concrete, water or sand,
with each surface reflecting the sun’s rays
to differing extents.
He also modelled the athlete’s body
posture, as this can affect what parts of the
body are exposed to sunlight.
The results showed that the duration
of events, along with the time of day, are
the most important factors influencing UV
exposure, which is why tennis, golf and
cycling stars are the most at risk.
However, clothing also plays a significant
role. Downs says female tennis players only
topped the league tables because male
tennis stars tend to wear protective caps.
Beach volleyball players’ lack of clothing,
coupled with the fact that matches take
place on highly reflective sand, also put
these athletes at considerable risk.
“I was a little surprised that beach
volleyball did not rank higher than 4th in the
sun exposure list for Tokyo 2020.
“It is certainly a good thing that many
beach volleyball events will be scheduled
at night. This, and the fact that beach
volleyballers’ exposure time will likely be
about half the time a tennis player spends
outdoors, certainly reduced our total
exposure estimate.”
Conversely, the fact that golfers tend to
wear long trousers and a cap stopped their
sun exposure from being even higher.
Downs says he was surprised to also find
that women overall exposed a greater skin
surface area to the sun (averaged across all
144 outdoor Olympic events) compared to
men, resulting in higher sunburn exposure.
According to Downs, making sure
long events were scheduled when the
sun is lower in the sky or at night was an
important factor in limiting sun exposure.
“Events like the marathon are purposefully
scheduled to run early in the morning
in order to keep the total sun exposure
down, so this is something that could be
considered for other events too.
“Other things that can be done include
route alterations that make greater use
of shade, or careful use of sunscreens to
prevent unnecessary sunburn.”
The study also recommends that the
Olympic Committee adopt specific sun
protection regulations and guidelines.
“Sporting communities and the athletes
who represent them can make a positive
contribution to reducing this very significant
global disease burden.
“I would very much like to see more
athletes at Tokyo 2020 wear a hat,
particularly in events like the 50km walk,
rowing and marathon events…
“I hope the world’s best athletes will
take a leading role in demonstrating best
practice.”
Downs says he will monitor the Tokyo
2020 games and hopefully report improved
exposure estimates based on changes that
may be implemented between now and
July next year. ■