I was talking with a friend, a non-runner, and he said "I pity anyone running the marathon in Beijing."
I hadn't thought about this for a while, but the issue of air pollution at the Olympics might turn out to be a major story at the games, especially if the women's marathon (one of the first athletics events to be contested) is obviously affected by the pollution in the city.
The NY Times takes stock of Beijing's attempts to curtail pollution for the Olympics by reducing driving and shutting down factories, efforts that haven't been completely successful yet...
In Beijing, Blue Skies prove Hard to Achieve
The article also gives an insight into how Chinese officials will handle the problem -- by refusing to admit that it exists. At a news conference last Sunday, Du Shaozhong, a deputy director of Beijing’s environmental bureau, touted the effectiveness of measures to improve air quality. However, the Times goes on to say...
"A system of monitoring stations calculates a daily air quality rating on a scale of 1 to 500, with 500 being the worst. The accuracy of the system has been questioned, but Beijing officials have steadfastly defended it. Under the system, any rating under 101 is considered acceptable. The recent run of bad days began last Thursday with a rating of 113. Friday brought a 109; Saturday a 118; and Sunday a 113. Monday’s rating has not yet been announced."
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I have to wonder if there's potential for long term health problems for marathoners.
THere have been instances in the past when an athlete was 'not the same' after a particularly challenging race (eg Salazar)
on a similar note of air quality, I was talking to an uncle who buys furniture from a business man who exports them from China. The man goes over to visit once a year, and apparently brings his own antibiotics, mask, and other respiratory devices for his how safety during the weekend long stay. He says it is so bad, there are days when you can't see the sun. This is in the southern, industrial part of china, not to be confused with the current olympic spot.
but air does travel. and how do the Chinese deal with the weather? I read an article in the economist about how they fire rpms, rpgs, and other artillery into the clouds to make them preemptively release rain or to stave it off depending on how many shots are fired into the air. these techniques are used for farming purposes, and are supposedly going to be adapted for the games. the effectiveness and creditability of firing into the clouds is still disputed as much as the pollution meter.
-Clay
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