Air Quality Suitable for China Olympics?

[oregonpackfan]

The air quality in Beijing, China is an issue for some athletes competing next week in the Olympics.

Last November, when the U.S. boxing team was in Beijing, a five-mile training run proved disastrous. Boxers began coughing. Five developed bronchitis. Three required medical attention. Only six were well enough to compete.

Chinese authorities have put stringent air quality controls in effect, shutting down factories and limiting vehicular traffic.

It didn't happen soon enough for some national teams which have established training bases in other parts of China--the U.S. track and field team, for instance, in Dalian--or even in other countries, such as South Korea and Japan.

American distance running coach Alberto Salazar is meeting the Olympic requirement of having his runners check in 3 days before the Olympics. Then he is having them leave Beijing the same day and only reporting back the day of the runners' scheduled event.

It should be an interesting 17 days of competition.

[digitaldean]

It will be nice (COUGH, COUGH) to see who wins the (COUGH, COUGH) the marathon (COUGH, COUGH). Maybe the one with the (COUGH, COUGH) best oxygen tank.

[The Leaper]

The Olympics are a joke...and a mighty pathetic one.

[Freak Out]

The distance racers are fucked. I've been in Beijing this time of year and the air was so bad it made me a tad nostalgic for LA in the late 70s. Next time lets grant the games to North Korea....at least the air is clean.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I was watching an interview with a mountain biker on the NEwshour yesterday. He said that in the Olympic trials, or whatever they were, 6 months ago, only 8 out of 46 bikers were able to complete the race. He talked about how his lungs seized-up, went into spasms. A lot of the racers were throwing up.

Holding the olympics in Beijing is a disgrace in so many ways.

[Freak Out]

The Party promised to allow more freedom for journalist's in the country, stop censoring the internet and improve air quality in Beijing....three strikes China....

,...of course the games are all about corporate profit and Chinese propaganda anyway....not the "games" really.

[Patler]

Just another example of spoiled athletes. Now they think breathable air should be provided to them! Next they will demand food without salmonella!

[oregonpackfan]

The U.S. cycling team arrived at the Bejing airport wearing pollution-control face masks.

[Freak Out]

The U.S. cycling team arrived at the Bejing airport wearing pollution-control face masks.

US Olympic cyclists say sorry for smog masks

(Yves Herman/Reuters)

Four US cyclists caused annoyance in Beijing by arriving to compete at the Olympic Games wearing smog masks

Four US Olympic cyclists who caused an outcry when they arrived at Beijing airport wearing smog masks have today apologized to Games organizers.

The four - Mike Friedman, Bobby Lee, Sarah Hammer and Jennie Reed - said that they were wearing the masks because of pollution fears, a touchy subject for the Chinese authorities.

As the Chinese capital remains shrouded in smog today, Jim Scherr, the chief executive of the US Olympic Committee, revealed that the four had said sorry.

"It probably wasn’t the most opportune time for these athletes to wear these masks,” he said, adding they had written an apology to Beijing Olympic Organising Committee (BOCOG).

But US officials said they would not ban US athletes from using masks to combat pollution if they felt it was needed because of air quality conditions.

“They have the right to wear masks if they feel it’s in their best interest to do so,” Scherr said.

“Hopefully they won’t have to use them and the air quality will be good."

Officials have today insisted once more that air quality is safe for athletes. Figures from China’s official Environmental Monitoring Centre deemed the air quality to be level two or “fairly good”.

Beijing enjoyed unusually blue skies last weekend following last-minute anti-pollution measures introduced on July 20, prompting optimism that organisers had managed to control air quality ahead of the Games.

Today, however, a murky haze hung over the main Olympic venues in northern Beijing, combining with high humidity and temperatures of 34C (95F) to create challenging conditions for competitors.

The quality of the Chinese capital’s air has proved a thorny public relations problem, but organisers said that plans to invoke further emergency measures before Friday’s opening ceremony would not be activated.

The authorities have already removed one million of the city’s 3.3 million cars from the roads and shut down more than 100 polluting factories and building sites in an attempt to clear the smog.

They said they were prepared to ban even more vehicles in Beijing and surrounding areas if conditions got worse, but the BOCOG spokesman said that organisers had backed away from such a move.

“The conditions are not unfavourable at the moment and my understanding is that we are not going to be taking any extra measures,” he told reporters.

Despite the reassurances from both Beijing organisers and the International Olympic Committee, some of the 10,000 visiting elite athletes continued to express their concern about the conditions.

The Spanish tennis player Fernando Gonzalez, who was playing a practice match with Wimbledon and French Open champion Rafael Nadal, said he was hoping for an improvement.

“The conditions are really tough with the pollution and it’s really hot. We don’t have too many days to adapt so I hope to be much better than today,” he said.

Jacques Rogge, the IOC chief, warned last year that poor air during the Games could result in the suspension of some events, particularly endurance races such as the marathon.

Ethiopian world record holder Haile Gebrselassie withdrew from the marathon because he feared the pollution could damage his health, although he will run the 10,000m.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Four US Olympic cyclists who caused an outcry when they arrived at Beijing airport wearing smog masks have today apologized to Games organizers.

Why did they apologize? Seems like an entirely appropriate thing to do.

Must have been some heavy duty pressure. Probably china threatened the commercial sponsors of the bikers.

[sheepshead]

The photos I've seen are scary. I have to believe it will have an effect on athletes that aren't used to that sort of air, which I am guessing is most of them.

[Harlan Huckleby]

[mraynrand]

Best part about the pollution is that it will increase global dimming - the amount of light that can reach the ground. By reflecting all that light and heat back into space, global warming will be counteracted. So everyone can feel happy that their inability to breath is in the interests of solving global warming.