World Athletics video highlight impacts of climate change on sport

November 20, 2024

Karen Sweaney

World Athletics has released ‘Becoming a Champion for a Better World: Athlete Messages for COP29’, a video in which elite athletes and Olympians share personal experiences of how climate change has impacted their performance and training.

Being held from Monday 11th to Friday 22nd November in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku, the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference is aiming to boost international cooperation to tackle climate issues.

With the conference focussing on the financials aspects needed to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the video sees Olympians Eliza McCartney of New Zealand, Australia’s Rhydian Cowley, Sam Mattis of the USA, Switzerland’s Ajla Del Ponte and Elena Vallortigara of Italy sharing their personal experiences of how climate change has impacted their performance and training, explaining what it means to champion for a better world and suggest ways that sport can contribute solutions to the climate crisis.

The athletes are part of ‘Champions for a Better World’, a group established by World Athletics in 2022 who are lending their voices to sustainability campaigning within the sport and encouraging their fellow athletes to collectively raise awareness about the threats posed by climate change.

Introducing the video, World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe stated “our athletes continue to speak clearly and passionately about the ways that the climate crisis is impacting their lives and their sport.

“They are also providing creative solutions.

"The science is clear. We must continue to act on our athletes' concerns and use the influence we have as the world’s most universal sport to ensure a healthy environment, for the future of our sport and the future of our planet."

Athletics on the COP29 agenda
The video’s release coincided with ‘Sports for Climate Action: Playing to Win Against Climate Change’, a panel session at COP29 that brought together ministers, athletes and sustainability actors from around the world to discuss actions and strategies to help sport address the climate crisis.

Mattis and two-time Olympic champion David Rudisha participated in the panel, warning attendees that athletic feats such as his 800m world record could become a thing of the past should global temperatures continue to rise.

Rudisha advised "It is always very exciting when they do very well in terms of running fast in races, and even breaking world records.

“With this climate change, we might not be seeing that in the future if we cannot tackle this matter as soon as possible.”

Last year, Athletics Kenya became the first member federation to join World Athletics as a signatory.

World Athletics featured a Green Zone in their championships in the Hungarian capital of Budapest last year, where athletes appeared daily to meet with fans and speak with journalists to discuss their concerns and sustainability initiatives.

In addition, the federation vows to be carbon neutral by 2030.

About the author

Karen Sweaney

Co-founder and Editor, Australasian Leisure Management

Artist, geoscientist and specialist writer on the leisure industry, Karen Sweaney is Editor and co-founder of Australasian Leisure Management.

Based in Sydney, Australia, her specific areas of interest include the arts, entertainment, the environment, fitness, tourism and wellness.

She has degrees in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney and Geological Oceanography from UNSW.

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