Beijing pollution risky for endurance athletes

By Nick Mulvenney

BEIJING (Reuters) - Endurance events at the Beijing Olympics could pose a health risk if they are staged on heavily polluted days, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday, although it was prepared to reschedule such events.

Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC coordination commission, said there was a small chance of athletes suffering some damage to their health if they took part in events lasting longer than an hour, such as the marathon and cycling road races.

Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world and, despite a 120 billion yuan ($17.12 billion) clean-up over the last decade, air quality remains a concern for many athletes coming to the Olympics, already a lightning rod for rights protests worldwide.

"There can be a risk, but it's not big, for endurance events that last longer than an hour," the Dutchman told Reuters on the sidelines of the final inspection of preparations for the August 8-24 Games.

"In that case, we are developing a Plan B. We might delay certain events for a couple of days. But to do that it must be very bad."

Organizers could face a dilemma if on the final day of competition pollution levels are too high to stage the men's marathon.

For events that take less than an hour to complete, Verbruggen said, there was no chance of any damage to the health of an athlete.

"The Chinese together with our medical commission have done an excellent job," he added. "They have scientifically proved there is no risk for the wide majority of sports."