(AP) VALENCIA, Spain — World-record holder Haile Gebrselassie is almost certain to miss the marathon at the Beijing Olympics because of the city’s poor air quality.
The Ethiopian long-distance star has asthma and he fears damage to his health running through the streets of the Chinese capital.
Gebrselassie would be a gold-medal favorite if he did take part.
His agent said the athlete will make a final decision after May 24, when he will know if he has qualified for the 10,000m at Beijing.
Gebrselassie won back-to-back gold medals in the 10,000m at the 1996 Atlanta Games and the 2000 Sydney Games. The Ethiopian, who suffered from inflammation of the Achilles tendon leading up to the Athens Games, finished fifth in 2004.
He turned his focus to road racing and the marathon following the 2004 Olympics. Gebrselassie has won several marathons — including in Berlin, where he set a world record — leading up the Beijing Games.
Because of pollution, many countries have based their training camps outside China before the Olympics begin Aug. 8.
Beijing to ban cars during Olympics
(AFP) – Beijing authorities will definitely go ahead with a ban on some cars during the Olympics to help ease pollution during the Games, a city official was quoted in the state press saying on Friday.
“Automobiles, excluding taxis, buses and emergency vehicles, are to stay off roads every other day in accordance with the even and odd numbers on the licence plates,” Xinhua news agency quoted vice-mayor Ji Lin as saying.
“The ban is aimed to ensure air quality during the sport events in Beijing.”
A plan to compensate drivers for not using their car was being worked out and would be announced later, he said on the sidelines of China’s annual parliamentary session. No other details were immediately divulged.
Chinese authorities have said previously in vague terms that cars may be taken off the roads during the Games, but Ji’s comments were the first time concrete measures had been publicised.
Beijing is one of the world’s most polluted cities and some of the 10 000 athletes coming for the August Games, including Ethiopian distance great Haile Gebrselassie, have expressed concerns about the health impacts of competing.
The capital underwent a four-day trial ban on cars in August 2007, one year before the 2008 Games, but the air quality did not show marked improvement.
During the one-year countdown, International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge warned that endurance events such as the marathon could be postponed to protect competitors.
“The task of bringing environmental pollution and traffic congestion under control remain arduous,” Beijing mayor Guo Jinlong said in a speech to the city’s legislature in January.
Guo said Beijing would enact strict standards on emissions this year and take other steps to curb pollution, such as closing down factories and suspending construction work in the city.