The impact of long-haul transmeridian travel on high performance athletes and support staff preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games

Introduction: In the summer of 2021, Irish Olympic athletes and their support staff embarked on long-haul transmeridian travel (LHTT) to Tokyo to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Travel fatigue is associated with long-haul (LH) travel, and jet lag is experienced by many travellers when crossing numerous time-zones. The symptoms of travel fatigue and jet lag are numerous, complex, and often difficult to separate, but both can potentially prevent optimal physical and mental performance. Aim: To determine the impact of LH travel on Olympic-level athletes and their support teams so as to inform the development and implementation of evidence-based travel strategies designed to optimise recovery and performance. Methods: A systematic research strategy was undertaken, comprising of 5 separate but inter-related studies: Study 1 a systematic literature review; Study 2 a national survey investigating experiences and practices of high-performance (HP) athletes and support staff when embarking on LH travel for training/competition; Study 3 and 4 observational studies holistically examining the effects of LHTT for major competition on HP athletes and support staff; and Study 5 a qualitative investigation of stressors and resources encountered by Olympic team support staff travelling to Japan for the Tokyo Summer Games. Results: The systematic review of 14 studies comprising of a total of 197 athletes from six sports, found that elite athletes consistently feel jet lagged after LH travel, with minimal disturbance in other psychometric markers and sleep. Only three studies found decrements in markers of physical performance. Survey results showed that HP athletes and support staff widely perceived LH travel to be disruptive to physical (86.4%) and mental (72.7%) performance, and to increase the risk of illness and injury (86.4%). The most prevalent symptoms reported following their most recent LH trip were related to fatigue and sleep disruption. All participants implemented strategies to help mitigate the negative consequences of LH travel, the most prevalent were moving and stretching on the flight (73.9%) and adjusting routine to appropriate destination time (i.e., timing of meals (73.7%) and bedtime (83.0%)). It took support staff travelling to Japan for the Irish Olympic team holding camp and Irish international-level swimmers travelling to Japan in preparation for World Championships, seven and ten days, respectively, to feel recovered from jet lag. Pre-travel, there was evidence of suboptimal sleep and elevated stress in both groups. From day 5 after arrival, swimmers perceived improved sleep and there was a 3.8 cm improvement in countermovement jump performance (p<0.001). In support staff, sleep and mood profiles normalised seven and eight days after LHTT, respectively, but by day 15 vigour remained low, indicating a “submerged” mood profile. Qualitative research found that the same support staff experienced organisational (i.e., workload) and personal (i.e., family committments) stressors pre-travel. Organisational resources (i.e., access to information) and personal resources (i.e., positive thoughts) were perceived as helpful in mitigating stressors. Participants perceived that LHTT did not negatively affect their performance in supporting athletes. Conclusion: These findings provide a framework on which to develop robust evidence-based guidelines to optimise recovery and performance after LH travel for major international competition which consider the specific needs of the support team as well as the athletes.