Putting together a complete Olympics schedule with 329 medal events across 32 sports is difficult enough, and Mother Nature makes things even tougher.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are here, and with the Summer Games taking place from July 26-Aug. 11, weather is sure to play a factor. From extreme heat to wind and precipitation, athletes, fans and event organizers will be locked in on the forecast throughout the 2024 Olympics.
Before the Games begin, here are five Olympic sports where weather will play an especially crucial role.
Archery
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Olympic archers need to take into account many factors when aiming at a target 70 meters away, and wind is key among them.
Competitors have long and short rods to stabilize their bows and attempt to combat windy conditions. However, with so much unpredictability when it comes to gusts and breezes, archers have to wait for a precise moment to let their arrows loose.
The Olympic archery schedule was majorly influenced by weather for the first time at the 2020 Tokyo Games, as some matches were postponed due to a typhoon forecast. Before that, there was an hour delay in archery at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Cycling
While track cycling takes place indoors, the other four cycling disciplines involve the elements.
Precipitation can create slick tires — and potentially lead to slips and crashes — in BMX freestyle and BMX racing. The same goes for mountain biking and road cycling, where high temperatures can also play a factor in endurance races.
The women's mountain bike race and BMX races were among the events delayed by weather in Tokyo.
Triathlon
Take the elemental factors of cycling, and add in two more sports. That's what triathletes have to battle.
On top of cycling concerns, weather can play a role in the swimming and running portions of the Olympic triathlon. The cleanliness of the River Seine has already been a major storyline ahead of the Paris Games, but triathletes could also deal with choppy water and varying currents based on the weather.
When it comes to running, scorching temperatures and slick running surfaces are among the potential weather obstacles.
Sailing
Swimmers aren't the only Olympians who have to deal with open water in France this summer.
Sailing will be held at the Marseille Marina. The venue is located on the Gulf of Lions, where sailors will take on the water of the Mediterranean Sea.
In Tokyo, it wasn't extreme weather that postponed an Olympic sailing medal match. Instead, the weather was too tame, as a lack of wind pushed back several sailing races.
Surfing
Instead of Paris, a certain group of Olympians will be checking out the forecast in Tahiti.
Surfing events for the 2024 Olympics will take place more than 9,000 miles away from the French capital in the highly touted waves of Tahiti. While the inaugural surfing competitions at the Tokyo Games featured waves around five feet tall, the ones in Teahupo'o hover around 6.5-10 feet and can sometimes exceed 20 feet.
Rain, wind and swells will all factor into the surfing action this summer.
