IAAF teamed with Kunak and SEDEMA, the regional environment ministry for Mexico City, to measure air quality during a road race for the first time.
This weekend, for the first time ever, anywhere, measured the air quality of an entire marathon route as the event was going on.
A local professional cyclist, rode the entire length of the course just ahead of the elite group with a mobile measuring unit, collecting data on the air runners were breathing throughout the race. The same monitoring task was carried out on the course on Saturday morning with a unit mounted on the roof of a car, providing an opportunity to compare the air quality in two very different scenarios.
Kunak’s monitors measured heat stress, nitrogen dioxideNitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a harmful gas whose presence in the atmosphere is mainly due to the use of fossil fuels in combustion vehicles and industrial act...
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“As a result of this environment and air quality mapping – with the highest resolution that the technologies facilitate nowadays – and the research study we will conduct, we aim to gain insights on what the IAAF can do to protect athletes from the negative effects of air pollution, which will also benefit the wider community, in fact, anyone who exercises,” said Miguel Escribano, Business Development Manager at Kunak Technologies.
More info about the initiative: https://worldathletics.org/athletics-better-world/news/air-quality-monitor-mexico-city