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Who is Svetlana Gomboeva? Russian archer, 23, faints in Tokyo heat during Olympics

Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva fainted during the individual ranking rounds due to a heatwave at the Tokyo Olympics

A Russian archer fainted in the scorching heat of Tokyo during a qualifying Olympic round on Friday, July 23, as coaches and staff huddled under trees for cover. Svetlana Gomboeva fainted while reviewing her final results and needed assistance from staff and teammates, who applied ice bags to her head to keep her cool.

As games-related Covid-19 cases continue to rise, leading to several athletes pulling out of the event, and with Tokyo facing a triple health threat, the Summer Games were very close to being canceled last minute. However, the opening ceremony is slated to begin at 6.55 am ET on Friday, July 23.

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The games, which find themselves at the sharp end of a Japanese summer, will conclude on August 8, with a lot of events packed into the 14 days. There will be 33 competitions and 339 events this year, which will mark the hottest summer games on record as temperatures promise to hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

With temperatures in the archery dome projected to reach 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) on the opening day of competition, participants faced issues with hydration and remaining cool, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic. Gomboeva recovered consciousness immediately after collapsing but had to be carried out of the arena on a stretcher by medical personnel.

Who is Svetlana Gomboeva?

Gomboeva is a 23-year-old archer who is representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). She holds the world ranking of No. 13 in women's recurve archery, according to the World Archery website. Gomboeva, who is from Moscow, is from the Ulan-Ude club and is trained by Erdynieva Gerelma. She was part of the World Archery Youth Championships team in 2017 that won silver. She won gold in the individual event in the World Cup stage this year, and her team won bronze. She was also part of teams that won two golds, a silver and a bronze in Universiades, European Outdoor Championships and the Asian Grand Prix Circuit.

After Friday's incident, Gomboeva's coach Stanislav Popov told reporters, "We hope that she will be okay. It turns out that she couldn't stand a whole day out in the heat." He added, "This is the first time I remember this happening. In Vladivostok, where we were training before this, the weather was similar. But humidity played a role here." Ksenia Perova, a teammate, later claimed Gomboeva was recuperating well and would be able to compete again soon. "Everything is fine with Sveta now," she said. Kang Chaeyoung of South Korea, who finished third in the individual ranking rounds, said she had not seen anything like the heatwave in Tokyo in any recent competitions.