BEIJING, Aug 16: Australia’s Olympic triathletes will wear river-green bodysuits at next week’s race to keep them camouflaged in the water and stop rival swimmers from shoving them out of the way, their coach said on Saturday.

Coach Bill Davoren said dressing his five triathletes to blend in with the greenish water in Beijing’s picturesque Ming Tomb reservoir was safer than having them stand out in the bright yellow national colour of Australia.

“We wanted an all-green suit so that we weren’t visible. We were very conscious of being visible in the water,” he told reporters.

“The open water swim is very rough and people tend to converge on each other because there are no lanes. There can be physical interaction and the perception is that at times it can be deliberate.”

The Australian team will also sip crushed-ice hydrating drinks called “slushies” and wear cooling vests to lower their body temperatures before starting the gruelling swimming, cycling and running event in Beijing’s suffocating heat.

The athletes could stay cooler half an hour longer than their rivals by using the fruit-flavoured isotonic slushies to knock 2 degrees Celsius off their body temperatures before the race.

“It’s like having a really cold ice cream,” said Alex Hamill, the Australia team’s media director. He said they would also use new double-insulated bottles to keep their drinking water cold.

“Between the slushies, the ice vests and the colder water on the bikes, our guys are pretty well prepared,” Hamill said.

Australia have entered two men and three women for Monday and Tuesday’s triathlons, including red-hot favourite Emma Snowsill. The team are used to hot weather at home and have also trained extensively at the Beijing triathlon site.—Reuters