How do Winter Olympians train compared to summer games athletes?

The Australian Olympic Committee has sent its second-largest Winter Olympics team of 53 athletes in ten sports to Italy for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Every athlete has a unique story of how they got to the pinnacle of their sport, but training methods can vary substantially.

This is especially relevant when it comes to the differences between athletes preparing for the summer and winter games.

Read more: Milan Cortina Winter Olympics: history, new events and Australian medal chances

Heatwaves and snowstorms

Australians will tune into the winter games after blistering heatwaves affected much of the country during a sweltering summer.

Extreme heat and fire conditions impacted many major sporting competitions, including the Australian Open tennis tournament and the Santos Tour Down Under and Surf Coast Classic cycling events.

In contrast, many of the Australian winter athletes have been competing in World Cup events in the Northern Hemisphere winter in the United States, Canada, Austria and Switzerland in the months prior to the games.

The Australian Institute of Sport’s European Training Centre in northern Italy has been a base for many athletes before the games.

How athletes beat the heat

A common preparation strategy for Olympic athletes is to spend time overseas chasing specific competition conditions.

Australian athletes routinely complete training camps in hot conditions to acclimatise to the heat, while winter athletes follow ice and snow around the globe.

This is crucial because if there are challenging weather conditions at competitions, athletes need to have prepared for them beforehand.

For example, the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics delivered heatwave conditions with temperatures between 36 and 41°C.

It is the interaction of ambient temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar load (amount of cloud cover) that contributes to how hot an athlete feels and how the body copes during exercise in the heat.

For athletes, gradual exposure to heat is crucial. They exercise in hot environments or in artificially hot and humid climate chambers and regularly use saunas.

This can help them adapt to the environmental conditions they may face during competition.

Without this gradual exposure to hot conditions, athletes can be at a greater risk of exertional heat illness.

The most recent International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement in 2023 recommended athletes use ice baths, ice towels and cold drinks to keep cool before, during and after exercising in the heat.

An expert consensus statement also recommends competitions should be postponed if possible to avoid hot temperatures to help ease stress on athletes.

Keeping cool, aiming high

The expected temperatures of Milan Cortina could be as cold as -7°C for multiple days at several competition venues.

This presents a completely different challenge to the athletes.

Winter athletes can be at higher risk of airway irritation and asthma when breathing cold air during prolonged, intense competitions.

The risk of frostbite will also be monitored, with the IOC recommending athletes cover their skin and avoid competition if wind chill falls below -27°C.

Winter Olympians must then train and prepare in the cold to be ready for the competition conditions.

For athletes in Australia, our winter ski resorts (Mt Hotham, Mt Buller, Falls Creek and Thredbo) are frequent training and competition grounds.

Training on the snow and ice provides athletes with the most specific preparation for their competition.

To ensure athlete safety, the IOC recommends athletes check the weather conditions to avoid hazardous wind chills, wear appropriate clothing and seek regular medical checks for early detection of exercise induced asthma.

Away from the snow and ice, purpose-built facilities such as the National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne, NSW, allows skiers and snowboarders to develop freestyle skills, while the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre in Brisbane has become a key training location for aerial and mogul skiers.

These facilities allow athletes to trial and master aerial manoeuvres before transferring them to snow.

Many will also travel overseas to access specific training facilities, before competing on the Olympic venues.

Building strength and power in the gym and sprinting at the athletics track is a common training focus for athletes in sliding events, as getting a fast start is crucial for a successful performance.

So, while many Australian winter athletes may miss out on time at the beach during summer, it’s for a good reason: they will have trained hard in the challenging environmental conditions they will likely face during competition.