Smog factor played down by British Olympic team

Aug 5 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

BEIJING’S notorious pollution is not having a serious impact on athletes, according to British Olympic chiefs.

The Chinese capital was swathed in fog yesterday after a spell of four clear days but no British competitors have felt the need to resort to wearing face masks which will be made available on request.

Instead the heat – routinely over 35 degrees – and humidity looks to be the more important factors.

Simon Clegg, the British Olympic Association’s chef de mission, said: “It’s not a concern to us. The expert advice that we are getting is that the situation continues to improve and the measures (shutting factories and limiting traffic) they put in place are still having a positive effect.

“We have had three or four days of outstanding blue-sky weather, and we do not think it is going to be an issue.

“No athletes here have been using face masks.”

Clegg said the quality of the facilities in the Olympic Village surpassed anything from past Games.

He added: “There’s a really positive atmosphere in the team, people are really excited. They have trained for their whole lives for this moment, and they are like coiled springs waiting to explode.

“The Village is fantastic, absolutely unbelievable – athletes have never had such good conditions as they have here in Beijing.”

Ben Hawes, captain of the British men’s hockey team said: “The smog did not seem to affect us when we trained this morning. We have no issues with that – it’s mainly the heat and humidity.”