Smelling salts Leave a comment

Did you watch the olympics Sunday? I had for a short time and most of it was on the women’s marathon, unfortunately, I was not able to watch Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania cross the finish line, I was just assuming she won because of the great lead she had over the pack. At 38, Tomescu-Dita is the oldest Olympic women’s marathon champion now, and because of her age I wanted her to win, yeah, but with her experience, she is the best already. One thing though I noticed she had something from her hips that she sniffed, (I missed where she got the first one). Commentators said about ‘carbohydrate’ thing at first, later a “smelling salt”. I was curious to know who won, though she most likely would, and she did, completing the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 44 seconds, the world record being 2:15:25 by Britain. There has been no issues about it so guess it is legal or okay. Smelling salts are often used on athletes (especially boxers) when they are knocked unconscious or in strongman competitions to wake up competitors before a heavy lift.

Smelling salts, according to wiki, are chemical compounds used to arouse consciousness, that explains why people sit up and take notice when smelling salts are placed beneath their nose. Years ago jogging for just few minutes made a friend so drowsy, let alone the more than 2 hours run in the marathon, minus the athletes’ endurance. One such compound is ammonium carbonate, a colorless-to-white, crystalline solid ((NH4)2CO3.H2O). Ammonium carbonate is mixed with perfume to create a stimulant. The ammonia fumes from the salts irritate the membranes of the nose and lungs, which triggers an inhalation reflex causing the muscles that control breathing to work faster.