[Performance of athletes exercising in ozone polluted air]

The literature on the performance of those exercising in air containing ozone was examined. The action of ozone is mediated by muscarinic receptors and others of unknown nature localized, apparently, over the respiratory epithelium of gaseous transport. Due to its action on those receptors the inspiratory phase of the pulmonary ventilation is reduced in an effect associated with pain and, simultaneously, the resistance to the pass of air is increased. If exercise increases ventilation to 90 or more liters per minute the effective dose of ozone increases potentiating its effect on the inspiration and the resistance. The potentiated reduction of the inspiratory phase and the associated pain (a) strongly antagonize the ventilatory effort of exercise and (b) reduced the capacity of response to the increase in resistance with augmented inspirations. In this way an important decrease in performance appears.