Weather forecasters are calling for rainy weather in Beijing later this week. That may be bad news for the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, but it could mean cleaner air in advance of the men's road race on Saturday.
Beijing has notoriously bad air quality and many Olympic athletes are expecting the worst, in spite of China's efforts to curb pollution by closing factories in the region and banning half the vehicles from the roads.
Some members of the US cycling team, among them track cyclist Mike Friedman, arrived this week wearing black respiratory masks that covered the nose and mouth. USA Cycling officials said it was an individual choice, not a team policy. (See also: US cyclists apologize for protecting their lungs)
Drowning
Perhaps their choices are based on the experience of Olympic mountain biker Adam Craig, who competed in the pre-Olympic warm-up games last year. He recalled his experiences to PBS on Monday:
“It's like — it's a weird bronchial spasm thing that I was getting, that just like — whenever you tried to take enough breath to give your muscles that fuel of oxygen they need, your bronchioles just start spasming and you just like physically can't do it.
“And it's like akin to drowning, or something, just not being able to take that full breath. And, you know, having your body really require that oxygen and not being able to get it is a pretty unique and pretty terrifying situation, I think.
“… I think there were 46 starters and eight finishers. So that's a pretty high attrition rate for a two-hour mountain bike race around a fairly easy course.”
Exposure
News reports say that in spite of Beijing's efforts to reduce pollution locally, much of the air pollution blows in from the southern industrialized regions. The pollution hovers over the city until a cold front from Mongolia blows it away or rain washes it away.
The US athletes are dealing with the smog by limiting their exposure. Randy Wilber, a physiologist with the U.S. Olympic Committee, told PBS that the US teams have set up alternative training sites across Asia where athletes will escape after checking in at Olympic Village.
The US mountain biking team, for instance, is going to South Korea to train, return for a day or so to practice the course, then leave again until the day of the event. (The mountain biking events are the last weekend of the Olympics. See online and TV schedule.)
Road cyclist Levi Leipheimer told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that he's prepared to wear a mask, if necessary, to protect his lungs from the air pollution.
Forecast
The weather/pollution forecast for Beijing is mixed. While the weather has been smoggy early this week, rain is expected to clear the haze for Friday's ceremonies.
Forecasts show sunny weather returns on Saturday with winds from the south in the next few days blowing in pollution for neighboring areas. The men's road race is scheduled on Saturday, the women's road race on Sunday, and the men's and women's individual time trials are scheduled on Wednesday. (See Olympic cycling schedule)
The International Olympic Committee says it reserves the right to reschedule events if the pollution becomes unsafe.
The Wall Street Journal has created a Beijing Air Quality Widget that tracks the Air Pollution Index. I thought this would be useful, until I learned that the numbers are based on Chinese government data, doesn't include ozone and small particulate matter in the index. That renders any information in the widget pretty much useless.
For instance, the scale runs from 0 to 500, with 100 considered to be slightly polluted. The score for Wednesday was 85, which is “good.” If you've seen pictures lately from Beijing, the air quality ain't good.
Let's hope for the sake of all the athletes that lots of rain and wind will help clear the air the next couple of weeks.
More about Beijing's air quality at “Partners in Grime” by Sally Jenkins at the Post. Jenkins co-authored “It's Not About the Bike” with Lance Armstrong.
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