D.Katz wrote:
The inquiry was made by a team official (which is required) and approved by the Technical Delegate. Again, nothing here is new and has been done for years. But it appears that you are really more interested in insulting people and trying to find fault with an athletes superior performance
Olympic events fall under IOC administration and adhere to IAAF regs. This whole "done for years" comment is unfounded. Has another athlete received 5 different new hats packed with ice at other water stations? Does an ice packed heat alleviate the naturally occurring body conditions due to heat? Does it provide prolonged and sustained cooling beyond that of approved sponges and or towels. If packed with ice, how is the ice kept in its frozen state on the table for 2 hours? Or, is it in an ice chest and taken out as the athlete approaches?
In today's day and age, does the technical delegate have total authority, or did he/she have to put this question forward?
This was an international Olympic marathon. No piano players on the lawn, no rock bands, no headphones, no jogging strollers.