(Bloomberg) – Climate change warnings poignantly made during the Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday are likely to resonate with athletes over the next fortnight as they struggle to train and compete in Brazil's soaring temperatures.

Marathon runners, swimmers, volleyball players and even soccer referees will succumb to extreme heat and lose concentration during the games, in some cases risking their lives to heatstroke, according to a report released Monday by Observatorio do Clima, a Brazilian civil society group.

"Because of warming, sport will never be the same again," and fewer records than in previous games are likely to fall as a result, the report said.

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