After three days of hot weather, Tokyo became blanketed in thick cloud and rain overnight, with skies beginning to clear by Tuesday afternoon local time.
The earlier drop in temperature might have been a welcome relief for athletes competing in the women’s canoe slalom semifinals at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre, where the water is said to be a touch too warm.
“It is like a bath. It is like paddling in bathwater,” Australia’s Jessica Fox said after competing in the heats on Sunday.
“It is beautiful, it is an amazing venue, but the water is really quite warm, so it is all about the ice baths and the ice towels and as much ice as possible. It gets pretty warm in Penrith in Australia, but this is the warmest by far, for me.”
Fox was fastest in today’s semifinals — where a handful of team members and officials gathered in the stands — and is the favorite to win gold later on.