If you’ve ever been to Beijing, you will quickly realize that the city’s pollution is one of the worst in the world. I remember visiting last year as I got in close to dusk, and seeing the red sun amongst the smoggy skyline reminded me of some scenes from Blade Runner. Well, I’m not the only one who has noticed the pollution – many Olympians are and are taking measures to prepare for their time in Beijing:
“…An increasing number of athletes are threatening to skip part or all of the Olympics because they believe the air is unsafe. Belgian tennis champion Justine Henin said she probably would skip Beijing entirely because of fears the air would aggravate her asthma. The world-record holder in the marathon, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, broke something of an unofficial taboo on complaining about the air when he announced Monday that he would not run the marathon in Beijing, opting instead for the 10,000-meter run, which is easier on the lungs. The British Olympic Assn. commissioned scientists to develop a high-tech breathing mask for its athletes to wear while competing. U.S. Olympic officials say their athletes will not wear masks in competition, but might at other times during their stay in Beijing. For the Chinese, for whom saving face is crucial, it would be a nightmare to have athletes parade on camera wearing masks, or for there to be a raft of no-shows at the opening ceremony.”
Can you imagine during the “walk of nations” during the Olympic ceremonies and seeing a lot of athletes wearing gas masks to protect their lungs? That would be pretty embarrassing if you ask me! I’ve traveled a lot in Asia, and in general, I didn’t really notice the air pollution in cities like Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong or Tokyo. But in Beijing, it is very noticeable – especially if you compare the days before it has rained and afterwards.
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4 Comments to “Olympians air a gripe about Beijing”
vanessa wrote:
Beijing is the one of the most polluted cities in the world. I think the athletes around the world who are participating should take precautionary measures before taking part in olympics.
Posted on 15-Mar-08 at 2:44 pm | Permalink
stingstungme wrote:
Beijing should have never tossed their name into the hat to be considered for hosting the Olympics if their air was not up to par. Also those who voted for Beijing to get the games should take a lot of heat for this.
I’m a huge tennis fan but I really don’t like Justine. Honestly, given all of Justine’s health problems the last few years, I think she would be crazy to go there and jeporadize her career and health. She was on top of the tennis world dominating the competition and got very, very sick. Amazingly, she came back as competitive as ever and I think if she competes there then she may get knocked out for good.
Posted on 16-Mar-08 at 5:56 am | Permalink
Mathew wrote:
I’ve been to Beijing, and I loved the city. But even the residents there wear those little paper painter’s masks to keep the particulates out of their lungs. We aren’t even talking about the microscopic pollution, we’re talking about bits of coal, ash and sand that pollute the air as solid matter. Bicyclists seemed most to wear them, and cab drivers. They can’t be worried about “saving face” when their own population wears them daily as a matter of course.
Can they?
Posted on 17-Mar-08 at 4:57 pm | Permalink
Bo wrote:
I was in Beijing for a business trips a few years back. Since I was in the midst of training for a marathon, I decided to go for a 6 mile training run. Before I even stepped out the front door of my hotel, the conceirge and the doorman both warned me that I was making a huge mistake. They kept telling me to go to the hotel gym. I ignored their warnings and boy was I sorry. I was about two miles into the run when I started feeling a slight burning in my lungs. It progressively got worse. I finally turned around and slowly walked back to the hotel. By the time I got back I had a thin layer of soot around my nose. I had similar problems in Seoul and Bangkok. I live and run in New York City all the time so you’d think my lungs were well trained for running in a fair amount of pollution.
Posted on 18-Mar-08 at 1:22 pm | Permalink
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