Review article Environmental considerations for athletic performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

For the achievement of peak sporting performance, many variables need to be optimized, including physical and mental training, rest, nutrition, team dynamics and tactics. Environmental factors on and around the competition venue may also have a significant impact on performance. This review highlights several important environmental conditions and their possible effect on exercise performance. The factors discussed include temperature, ultraviolet radiation, allergens, atmospheric pollution and altitude. The climatic, atmospheric and weather conditions likely to be prevalent in Beijing at the 2008 Olympic Games are presented and recommendations are provided for optimising performance under these conditions during August, the time at which the Games wil