India’s best triathlete is in a race against climate change
Meet India’s best triathlete
Her name is Pragnya Mohan, and she is the highest-ranked triathlete in India’s history. Pragnya is from Ahmedabad, the largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat on the western coast of the country.
As she shares in her TED Talk, her journey to becoming a professional triathlete started in the baby pool. Since then, she’s collected numerous accolades in the world of sports.
In 2019, she became the South Asian triathlon champion and was the first Indian triathlete to participate in the Triathlon World Cup, which took place in Madrid that year.
Pragnya has played a key role in developing triathlon in India as the sport gains popularity. However, extreme heat has meant she’s had to leave her home country to train.
She shared that in Ahmedabad, training outside after 8 a.m. is impossible most of the year due to temperatures reaching 40°C.
"With climate change, the kind of heat that we experience has increased so much. I am not able to train in my country. That is one of the reasons that I moved to the UK."
Pragnya Mohan, Professional Triathlete
Pragnya Mohan’s experience with extreme heat
Extreme heat not only hinders athletic performances but also poses severe health risks to athletes such as Pragnya, who need to sustain high levels of effort over prolonged periods of time.
Pragnya played a key role in releasing “Rings of Fire”, a report published before the 2024 Paris Olympics, to raise awareness of the heat risks athletes are increasingly facing.
In this report, she shares more about how extreme heat can lead to severe dehydration for athletes, cause exhaustion, and even be fatal.
“When heat illness strikes, one starts feeling cold. Your body starts shivering, you feel dizzy, and your body feels like it’s shutting down. It does not make sense what is happening at that time. In the end, you faint. Definitely, I fear for the lives of athletes. It is scary and can be fatal.”
Pragnya Mohan, Professional Triathlete
Extreme heat and climate change make it very difficult for athletes to train in India, which is why we see athletes such as Pragnya favouring Europe to prepare for her races.
Pragnya recalls a race during the 2023 Asian Games qualifiers that took place in Chennai. It was in the afternoon, with temperatures over 40°C and humidity above 80%.
“I specifically went back to India for two weeks before the race to train and acclimatise to those conditions, but it still took me weeks to recover from the race.”
Pragnya Mohan, Professional Triathlete
With rising global temperatures, race location and start time selection, as well as nutrition and hydration, will be even more important to protect athletes’ health.
The power of an athlete’s voice
As the world of sports increasingly recognises its role in tackling the climate crisis, athletes can be key actors in driving emission reduction initiatives. From fans getting exposure to sustainability topics to leagues and clubs receiving pressure to decarbonise, athletes can create waves of climate action.
That’s what we see with topics such as extreme heat, with the Rings of Fire report educating people about climate change risks through the lens of sports. Beyond her participation in the report, Pragnya’s contributions extend to social sustainability. She wants cycling to empower and change the lives of young girls in India.
With school dropout rates extremely high due to limited transport options, Pragnya leveraged social media to get people to donate unused bicycles so students could use them for commuting. Pragnya aims to empower 1,000 girls through cycling in 2024, enabling girls in India to benefit from education and later access employment opportunities.
Reaching such elite levels of athletic performance is impressive enough, but it’s even more laudable when athletes leverage their platform to drive social and environmental actions. The power of athletes to tackle climate change should not be underestimated. Admired for their athletic prowess, their voice and actions can have ripple effects.
