OLYMPIC organisers have announced additional measures they plan to take to help protect athletes and spectators from Atlanta's searing summer heat. The move follows complaints at the US Olympic athletics trials being held there this week and a grand prix meeting in the city last month.

Atlanta Games chief Billy Payne said: "We decided to go with some significant additional hydrating procedures including misting and fans, not all of which are deployed at this time."

Temperatures in the shaded-portion of the Olympic Stadium on Sunday were recorded as 38 degrees Centigrade in the sunny sections of the grandstand and a stifling 44 degrees on the track itself.

Several athletes, including eight-times Olympic champion Carl Lewis, said they have found it difficult to keep their body fluids at comfortable levels.

Payne said additional water stations and shelters from the sun - will be built for fans at several Olympic venues. He said the decision was made following the grand prix meeting in May, when temperatures soared past 32 degrees.