China: Beijing smog makes for a painful jog

Times of London ^ | 08/08/08 | Will Pavia

[TigerLikesRooster]

Beijing smog makes for a painful jog

Will Pavia in Beijing

All day yesterday Beijing was obscured by thick grey air, a phenomenon known in the Chinese state media as “overcast and hazy skies”, and described by the rest of the world as smog.

Beijingers claim that the smog has thinned slightly in recent weeks, thanks to the factory closures and the one million cars removed from the roads, but still, for the newly arrived visitor, the vast windows of Beijing’s new airport terminal present an astonishing vista of nothingness. “We were gobsmacked when we landed,” an American athlete said. “We had not seen the ground coming.”

On Monday even the smog was hard to discern — that is, it was hard to see the smog for the smog. On Wednesday afternoon we briefly glimpsed the fuzzy outline of the sun and gawped at it like goldfish staring out into the living room after our bowl had been cleaned.

Quite how the athletes are going to cope with this has been a hot topic in sporting circles. The Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, 34, the marathon world record holder, pulled out of the event over pollution concerns earlier this year. On Tuesday the Portuguese cyclist and Athens silver medallist Sergio Paulinho also withdrew from the Games, citing a respiratory problem that he feared could be exacerbated by the pollution.

[TigerLikesRooster]

So the decisive edge in any long-distance outdoor competition would be the high tolerance of foul air. Especially if you have some allergic condition to such air, you are toast.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[JACKRUSSELL]

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[null and void]

It's mist.

[Lawgvr1955]

So the decisive edge in any long-distance outdoor competition would be the high tolerance of foul air.

I can see the headline now. "Two Pack A Day Smoker Takes Gold In Marathon".

[Army Air Corps]

Pei-Ping

[TigerLikesRooster]

Can rule out the chance that some hither-to unknown athletes can claim gold and thank his old habit of chain smoking.

[Wilhelm Tell]

It must be very difficult for people with asthma when even healthy people are having problems.

[scott says]

What an absolute filthy and repulsive city. How the Olympic selection committee could have picked Beijing as the host city is mind boggling. Unless they actually wanted to show the rest of the world on how polluted China is an effort to stop it.
We will be watching, if we can actually see anything through the thick haze, competition in a filthy pig stye...Great TV, lol. Look forward to "seeing" the runners weezing and coughing in the smog.

[cookcounty]

Allen Colmes said don’t worry, it’s just mist. It’s US industry that’s the real devil.

[Reaganesque]

"...thick grey air, a phenomenon known in the Chinese state media as “overcast and hazy skies”

Ah! Memories! Memories of the days when the Soviet Union would report that their leader was suffering from a minor head cold when in fact the man had been dead for months. Its good to see the Chinese keeping up the traditional Communist utter disconnect from truth and reality. Of course, our breed of Leftist here in the US isn't far behind in developing this particular talent.

[sinanju]

Maybe they can cut it into bricks and export it as building material.

I think Beijing air would make a lovely garden wall.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Correction: Can —> Can't

[Reaganesque]

And don’t forget kids! China was exempted from the Kyoto Protocalls that we were criticized for not signing. But China, the worker’s paradise, can ruin their environment to their heart’s content. Its the West that has to do something about it!!

[scott says]

Un-freakin”-real.I saw that athletes who wear safety masks are getting in trouble..can you believe this garbage?
I predict that some broadcasts will be canceled because the haze will be so thick that visibility will be 15 feet!LOL
What a mess. I really do feel sorry for the people there, very sad.I probally should not joke about it.

[Inyo-Mono]

What an absolute filthy and repulsive city. How the Olympic selection committee could have picked Beijing as the host city is mind boggling. Unless they actually wanted to show the rest of the world on how polluted China is an effort to stop it.

That photo is unbelievable! I have never seen air that bad before. Why in God's green earth would anyone, especially Olympic athletes want go there?

[scott says]

All kidding aside, if possible, it really is a horrible place to have outdoor competition. I guess they thought that it was some sort of opportunity to bring China along...open the society up. Of course the Chinese went crazy in attempt to show off their “progress” and completely went wild in their building .I read that a very large river was dammed to divert the water to Beijing and something like 3 million people were displaced! It is mind boggling.
China has ZERO environmental regulations and has been building like wild.
It is actually terrifying to take a look at the place. So many people and out of control building with a absolutely no concern for public safety
I will tune in just to get a look at the spectacle, it really is very sad.
We need to help liberate those people...man.
The story of the Olympics will not be—look how good China is and has progressed , but look on how filthy and bad China is-—

[berdie]

The irony of this never fails to amaze me.

[JDoutrider]

We shouldn't have gone there to begin with! KowTowing to the evil red communists is absurd! Trading with the S.O.B.'s is a mistake as well... all we are doing is arming our future enemy with the proceeds!

Don't even go there about President Bush attending this mockery! Legacies are not made by appeasing the enemy! It's very hard for me to see him do this to Himself, not to mention our beloved Nation...