Tokyo Olympics

Russian Olympic Archer Loses Consciousness in Tokyo Heat

Temperatures in Tokyo were above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius)

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva lost consciousness during a competition at the Tokyo Olympics in intense heat Friday.

Gomboeva collapsed shortly after completing the qualifying round and was attended by medical staff, coach Stanislav Popov said in comments published by the Russian Olympic Committee.

"It's the first time that I remember something like this happening," he said. In Vladivostok, where we were training before this, the weather was similar. But the humidity here had an influence.”

Temperatures in Tokyo were above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). The heat in Tokyo’s summer months already prompted organizers to move the marathons and race-walking events to the cooler city of Sapporo.

archery Svetlana Gomboeva
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Svetlana Gomboeva of Team ROC is treated for heat exhaustion in the Women's Individual Ranking Round during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field on July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.

Teammate Ksenia Perova said that she was discussing her results with a teammate when she discovered Gomboeva had collapsed.

“It's probably heatstroke," Perova said on the ROC’s social media. “It's very hot here and the asphalt is really baking. Of course there are also nerves, but the main reason is still the weather.”

Perova added that Gomboeva was feeling better after doctors gave her water and was traveling back with the team to the Olympic village.

Gomboeva qualified 45th of 64 archers in the women's event Friday and is scheduled to compete in the individual and women's team events later in the Games. The round was won by South Korea's An San with a new Olympic record score of 680.

Japan’s robot pair of Olympic and Paralympic mascots, Miraitowa and Someity, respectively, stopped by one of the NBC workspaces to deliver a show-stopping performance.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us