(DENVER, COLORADO) After the Avalanche’s 7-0 beating to the Lightning in Game 2 of the Finals, the question of altitude was raised by various observers as an explanation.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
After all, it seemed abnormal that such a good hockey machine as the Lightning should be so amorphous. Those questions seemed even more legitimate after the Lightning’s resounding Game 3 win back at home.
Looking back on the first four games, we now see that we have to take it and leave it, that the altitude is only one of the sources of explanation, but not the only one, far from it. The right to the last change is obviously of paramount importance.
Jon Cooper’s men had their tongues on the ground again in the second half of the match on Wednesday. The meeting took place in Tampa, however, where one could say that the highest passes are the overpasses that span the highways.
That said, the altitude remains an interesting element to analyze. If only to add a little scientific knowledge to our sports pages, we interviewed a specialist in things to better understand the human body: Dr.r Todd Bull, professor of medicine and pulmonary sciences at the University of Denver School of Medicine.
PHOTO FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER WEBSITE
The Dr Todd Bull, professor of medicine and pulmonary sciences at the University of Denver School of Medicine
The Press : What is the basic principle behind the difficulty of practicing a sport at altitude?
The Dr Todd Bull : Many of your readers have probably themselves noticed that their ability to exercise decreases at higher elevations, even in places like Denver, which we consider to be at moderate elevation. These people must have felt short of breath. It is the result of the change in atmospheric pressure. No matter where you are, the oxygen percentage in the air is always the same, at 21%. But the number of oxygen molecules we breathe decreases as we go up in altitude, because the pressure decreases. With each breath, we absorb fewer oxygen molecules. And there’s less pressure to push that oxygen through the body, into the tissues. So even though there is so much oxygen in the air, people breathe less of it. It is a real phenomenon. People who like to jog notice it.
The Lightning and Avalanche players have just spent a few days in Tampa. Do the Avalanche players maintain a long-term advantage, because they play and train at altitude year-round?
There are several acclimation factors that affect multiple organs, and these variations are not fully understood. What we have known for a long time is that training at altitude gives an advantage. This is why many runners move to Colorado for their training. In Denver, however, we are at moderate altitude, so it is also not like in Bolivia, for example. Since the Avalanche players play and train at altitude the majority of the time, they have a certain advantage. But each player also has his individual characteristics. Except that all other things being equal, if we take exactly the same person, the one who trains at altitude would have an advantage.
Do the effects of altitude change with the seasons or whether an activity is indoors or outdoors?
No, unless you’re in a pressurized chamber, it’s the same thing. Humidity can still have an effect, but it remains negligible.
Denver is one of the few cities with teams in all five major professional sports. In which sports are athletes most likely to experience the effects of altitude?
The real answer is long distance running. But hockey would be very high on the list because it’s a sport that requires explosion, where players go from aerobic to anaerobic effort. The heart must constantly deliver oxygen. Soccer would therefore be very high too. Baseball would be lower on the list because it is fast action, and the player then has plenty of time to recover.