French police have warned on Friday that a historic heat wave in the country has nearly pushed emergency services to the limit and Sunday’s Diamond League meeting should be canceled.
Since last Sunday temperatures have soared this week as Noah Lyles, Femke Bol, Mondo Duplantis and Marileidy Paulino are part of the packed lineup set to compete at Stade Sébastien Charléty.
Meet organizers had already said on Thursday that the event would go on as scheduled but with an “adapted format” that includes delaying the opening of the stadium, providing extra water stations, creating shaded areas and broadcasting regular heat safety messages.
“Since the onset of this extreme weather event, the FFA has been monitoring the situation with the utmost vigilance,” organizers said. “Daily situation assessments are being conducted to continuously adapt operational measures in line with evolving weather conditions and the recommendations of the relevant authorities.”
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Thursday he would “activate the highest level of public health mobilization,” called ORSAN level 3, that would increase the availability of the amount of emergency workers countywide. At least 40 people have died due to the conditions that have also forced the closure of landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum.
The nation is not alone in dealing with scorching temperatures as Austria, Belgium, Britain, Croatia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia and Sweden have all been under some level of high heat advisories.
Sunday’s Diamond League meeting would be the eight as part of a schedule that has already seen adjustments.
Last week’s Doha event was moved to June 19 instead of serving as the season-opener but changed because of the Iran War and looming tensions in the Middle East. Back in March, organizers were firm about not moving the Doha meeting even as other events like two Formula 1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April were canceled.
But the overwhelming conditions in France could drastically tilt Sunday’s Diamond League as the nation sees record heat that already reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit by 4 p.m on Friday. Evening temperatures were expected to be in the low 70s.
Stade Sébastien Charléty is a 20,000-seat and has a modest amount of shaded areas under a roof that covers some of the venue’s seating. But the majority of the track and all of the infield is exposed to the elements as a forecast high of 84 degrees is expected on Sunday.
“The safety of athletes, coaches, volunteers, officials and spectators remains our absolute priority,” meet organizers said in their statement on Thursday. “All decisions have been made in strict compliance with the Prefectural Order, Article 3 of which provides an exemption allowing professional athletes to compete.”
