BEIJING WARNED ON OLYMPICS AIR QUALITY
 
By Mure Dickie in Beijing and Roger Blitz in London
Thursday, August 09, 2007
 
China was put on notice yesterday that if it did not address its air pollution problems before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it could see games organisers ordering some endurance events to be rescheduled.

The warning from Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, clouded celebrations to mark the final year of the games' preparations, especially for Beijing organisers who have tried to wave aside pollution worries with assurances of improvement and vague promises of further environmental action.

The Chinese government has invested huge financial and political capital in the games, which open at 8:08pm on August 8, 2008. Yesterday marked the start of the final year of the "Olympic countdown” with fireworks and light shows in Tiananmen Square.

But while work on the games' venues and transport routes appears to be going smoothly, visiting sports officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the effect of Beijing's air pollution on athletes.

During an interview with US broadcaster CNN yesterday, Mr Rogge said the timing of some Olympic events might have to be changed if air quality is too poor.

“This is an option,” he said. “It would not be necessary for all sports . . . but definitely the endurance sports like the cycling race where you have to compete for six hours, these are examples of competitions that might be postponed or delayed to another day.”

The IOC later indicated events would be postponed for a matter of hours, rather than days, adding that China was fully aware of the problem.

Mr Rogge's spokeswoman said: “The IOC is confident that initiatives being put in place to improve air quality will have improved the situation fundamentally a year on from today and that's very much the philosophy, knowing that the athletes' health is of the utmost importance.”

Air pollution was an issue at the Los Angeles, Atlanta and Seoul Olympics, and remains one of the IOC's biggest concerns over Beijing.

The Beijing Olympics organising committee (Bocog) said it could not respond to his remarks or discuss the possibility of rescheduling events.

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国际奥委会主席担忧北京空气污染

 
英国《金融时报》王明(Mure Dickie)北京、罗格•布里茨(Roger Blitz)伦敦报道
2007年8月9日 星期四
 
国际奥委会(IOC)主席雅克•罗格(Jacques Rogge)警告，如果不能在2008年北京奥运会之前解决空气污染问题，奥运会组织机构可能要求改期举行一些耐力赛。

国际奥委会主席雅克•罗格(Jacques Rogge)这一警告，为奥运会倒计时一周年的庆祝活动投下了阴影。对北京奥组委(Bocog)而言，更是如此。为了打消人们对污染的担忧，北京奥组委一直保证环境将会改善，并作出一些含糊的承诺，将采取进一步的环境治理措施。

中国政府已经为这届奥运会投入了大量经济和政治资本。北京奥运会将于2008年8月8日下午8:08开幕。昨天，为了庆祝“奥运会倒计时”一周年，中国政府在天安门广场举行了焰火和灯光表演。

然而，尽管奥运会场馆与交通建设显得进展顺利，但来访的体育官员多次就北京的空气污染对运动员的影响表示了担忧。

罗格昨天接受美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)的采访时表示，如果空气质量太糟糕，一些奥运会项目可能会改期举行。

“这是个选择。不是所有项目都有这个必要……但对于一些耐力赛，如赛程长达6小时自行车赛，是绝对有必要的，这类比赛有可能延期或推迟到另外一天。”

国际奥委会随后指出，赛事有可能推迟几个小时，而不是几天，并补充说中国完全意识到这个问题。

罗格的发言人表示：“国际奥委会对一些正在实施的空气质量改善措施抱有信心，相信一年之后的今天，空气质量会有根本性的改善。确保运动员的健康是重中之重，这正是奥运会的理念。”

洛杉矶奥运会、亚特兰大奥运会与汉城奥运会也曾遇到空气污染问题，而这仍然是国际奥委会对北京奥运会最为担忧的问题之一。

北京奥组委表示，不便回应罗格的评论或讨论赛事改期的可能性。