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Spark keeps its cool ahead of hot, hot meet
Faced with hot, humid conditions in Moncton
(CAN) ahead of this week’s 13th IAAF world junior championships,
Australia’s top junior track and field athletes have been hard at
training – and recovery – in the final countdown to the meet, now
less than 24 hours away.
With high temperatures and soaring humidity, the 36 members of the
inaugural Australian Spark will face tough conditions when they
step out on the world stage this week but, thanks to the work of
team staff, all athletes will be staying cool as the weather heats
up.
Driven by team leader Sara Mulkearns, the team has
taken on rigorous recovery techniques to ensure all athletes line
up in peak physical condition when competition gets under way
tomorrow night.
Daily hydration and weight monitoring sessions, slushie drinks on
tap, intensive physiotherapy and the latest in sports medicine have
all aided the team’s final preparations for the meet, as well as
the extensive use of ice baths and ice vests in athletes’ recovery
from training and competition.
While the science behind elite performance may be new to some,
these practices have been part of Athletics Australia’s junior
development program since its inception in 2006, with hydration
testing and education sessions around effective recovery techniques
integrated into camps for the organisation’s Under 19, Under 21 and
Target 2012 squads, as well as all world youth and world junior
teams.
For dehydrated athletes, electrolyte-fuelled Shotz are used to
assist in the recovery of lost fluids and return athletes to
optimal hydration levels as soon as possible.
In addition, for the first time in 2010 the Australian world junior
championships squad will have a slushie machine in its team tent to
assist in athletes’ rehydration and recovery efforts following
competition. In an innovative move by the Australian team and
following the effective use of the technique in the AFL, ice-cold
slushie drinks are the latest in a long line of techniques being
employed by Athletics Australia’s junior teams to ensure athletes
are fighting fit all the way to the finish line.
While the slushie machine is a new initiative for the junior team,
tried and true ice baths have been an integral part of the program
since day one. In Moncton, up to forty bags of ice have been
deployed daily to aid the team’s recovery efforts, piquing the
attention of teams from all around the world.
“Everyone is noticing what we’re doing and watching what’s going
on,” said ice-bath chief and team walks coach Brent
Vallance.
In one of several measures taken on to ensure all athletes arrive
at their event in the shape of their lives, the 36 members of the
Australian Spark have braved ice-cold baths following all training
and competition sessions to aid their recovery on the road to the
world junior titles.
“We started with the ice baths at the pre-departure camp in
Brisbane last month and there were a lot of people who were new to
it but today was a really good example where people were asking
when we were setting the baths up, so the athletes have now got
into a routine where they finish training and head to the ice
baths,” Vallance said.
“What we want the athletes to be doing is anywhere between eight
and 15 minutes of full submersion in water between 12 and 15
degrees, we don’t want to make it too cold where they can’t
stay in for the required length of time.”
And while it’s not always enjoyed, the time spent on recovery
efforts has its advantages.
“The basic benefits of the ice baths are that they’re relaxing in
aiding recovery, they act as an anti-inflammatory and because it’s
been so warm, they help return the core temperature back down to
its normal resting state after a training session or competition,”
Vallance said.
“Once competition starts there will be an ice bath at the warm-up
track and also one back at our accommodation for the athletes as
soon as they finish their event.”
Vallance’s four charges at this week’s world junior titles –
Dane Bird-Smith, Rhydian Cowley,
Regan Lamble and Paige Hooper –
as well as 5000m contender Kevin Batt, will also
look to undertake a raft of pre-cooling techniques before they line
up for their turn on the world stage.
“The pre-cooling process is mainly for the guys who do the longer
events, so really it’s only for the walkers and (5000m runner)
Kevin Batt’s on that cusp where he can benefit from it too,”
Vallance said.
“These athletes are also racing in the middle of the day when the
sun’s at its highest and the temperature’s at its hottest so that
needs to be considered too.”
With the best junior athletes in the world set to step out in
Moncton this week, the Australian Spark will take to the start line
with the very latest sports science and recovery education on its
side.
Photo courtesy of Brent Vallance
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