Athletics: Olympic 'campers' told to leave tents behind

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

To avoid turning the Olympic village into a camping ground, athletes have been banned from pitching their special altitude tents in Sydney.

A number of New Zealand Olympians have been sleeping in the oxygen tents - the new rage in performance-boosting concepts - to simulate living at high altitude.

But Games organisers have banned the tents in the athletes' village, saying they are too dangerous.

The special enclosures are also noisy, and there are concerns about what other effects the altitude simulation may have on athletes' bodies.

Among the Kiwi athletes who have used the tents are the track cyclists, who have just completed a heavy medal haul at the World Cup in Colombia.

Triathlete Evelyn Williamson spent two week-long sessions in the rarefied atmosphere of the tent, where the oxygen level is lower, boosting the level of red blood cells and enhancing performance.

She found the first week, during her base training, was beneficial but stopped using the tent after the second session because her training "went backwards."

The Sports Foundation bought two of the $11,000 tents, invented in England, for the country's elite athletes.

But chief executive Chris Ineson said the altitude method did not work for everyone.

"For some people, such as Danyon Loader, it does have a benefit. But for others it can be detrimental, making them nauseous and sick.

"The tents mean athletes who benefit from altitude training can do so without the expense of having to go to Colorado or Switzerland."

He was unsure if any of the New Zealand team had wanted to use the tents in Sydney.

But that is no longer an issue. Dr Jacques Rogge, vice-chairman of the International Olympic Committee medical commission, told Games organisers that tents should not be allowed.

The village, he said, was not designed to accommodate them.

There are also questions being raised about the benefits of the altitude simulation, which boosts the level of naturally occurring hormone erythropoietin (EPO).

EPO injections, which can improve performances by up to 20 per cent, are banned.

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