Text: Denise Mirás
Under humidity above 60%, little wind, 38 degree heat on Sunday morning (28), proof of the 50km Race Walking Cup Brazil challenged the competitors in the circuit mounted on the Praia do Pontal. Of the 18 who started, only seven reached the final with times that have passed the four and a half hours to complete the route, earning as South American Championship and also as a test event for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Fifty kilometers equivalent to about seven times the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, six times the route from Leme to Leblon, or the distance from Copacabana to Pedra de Guaratiba. The images reveal the efforts of marchers in one of the most beautiful beaches of the city, in the West Zone.
Bath in the route: marchers attempt to reduce body temperature with water on the head (Photo: Rio 2016 / Alex Ferro)
What is the limit of the human being?
The marchers may well answer that question. Proof technique that requires concentration to keep your feet sliding (without running) and extreme resistance, has the strong sun an opponent which dramatically reduces mental capacity of competitors after a few hours. We need individualized hydration with isotonic combined, cereal bars and gels with carbohydrates (to compensate for the loss of minerals in sweat), which are offered to athletes at points combined with the technicians.
The problem is that the stomach can pass to reject any kind of food. And cramps appear also as a consequence of loss of minerals. With anxiety and pain, the marchers attempt to reduce body temperature turning cups and glasses of water on the head or carrying soaked sponges, also provided by the coaches.
The asphalt heat rises like fire through tennis and causes blisters, as showed on Sunday the Brazilian Rudney Nogueira, saying he felt flames up the legs. The athlete is then more likely to "break the rhythm," slow down - but a past out of the rule is indicated by the referee. Three mean disqualification. It is the mind that pushes the body. Then, for many, it does not give more and the first stop is in the ambulance.
With faces contorted with the effort, some will cross the finish line, one by one, up to more than five hours to make the route "on autopilot". For those who can not speak and are regarded with amazement even by opponents, the next steps will also be towards the shade - or clinic.
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