AnyonewonderinghowconvincedathletesarebyBeijing'seffortstoclearitssmoggyairfortheOlympicsneedonlychecktheirtravellingluggage.
Despiteyearsofofficialreassurance, manyofthetopteamswillbepackingbreathingaccessoriesortimingtheirarrivalforthelastpossiblemoment. HaileGebrselassie, theasthmaticholderofthemen'smarathonworldrecord, haswithdrawnfromtheeventinBeijingthoughhestillplanstocompeteinthe 10,000m.
TheRussianOlympicCommitteesaysitsstrategyistokeepathletesindoorsasmuchaspossibleandseveralteamswilbedoingfinaltraininginRussia'sfareastinsteadofBeijing. Thecommittee'sGennadyShwetssaidairpollutioninBeijingwas “certainlyanimportantfactorforournationalteam”.
Australiantrackandfieldathleteswillputofftheirarrivaluntilthesecondweekofthegames. MostAustralianOlympianswillflyintoBeijingthreedaysbeforethestartofthegamesfromtrainingcampsinKualaLumpur, HongKongandDarwin, withabouthalftheathletesexpectedtoattendtheopeningceremony.
“Theyfeeltheycan'ttraininBeijing,” saidMikeTancred, oftheAustralianOlympicCommittee. Thesquadwillbelookedafterby 80 medicalexperts, thebiggestmedicalteamAustraliahastakentoanOlympics.
DavidMartin, anexercisephysiologistworkingwithAmericanmarathonrunners, saidthesheerquantityofpollutioninBeijingsetitapartfromanypriorsummergames, addingthatthecombinationofpollutionandhumiditywouldsetathletesa “doublewhammy”.