D1 - High Altitude

• High Altitude: 2400 m 

  • Anywhere more than 2400 m above sea level is considered to be at high altitude, which affects a person’s sporting performance mainly due to the fact that there is a lower partial pressure of oxygen at altitude compared to being at sea level.
• Partial Pressure of Oxygen at Altitude Compared with Sea Level

  • The further above sea level you travel, the lower the barometric pressure becomes.
  • This means that the higher up you go, the ‘thinner’ the air becomes as there are few air molecules in the atmosphere.
  • Therefore, although the percentage of oxygen and nitrogen within the air remain the same (20.93%, 0.03% and 79.04% respectively) every breath of air you take contains fewer and fewer molecules of oxygen.
  • As a result, a person must work harder to obtain the same quantities of oxygen compared with when they are at low altitudes.
• Partial Pressure of Oxygen at Altitude Compared with Sea Level:

  • This means that an athlete who exercises or competes at high altitudes will have to breathe much faster to take in enough oxygen for their energy systems to work normally than when they exercise at lower altitudes.