Canada HTFU's

BEIJING OLYMPICS
Canada clears the air on pollution concern

'Not as bad as we all first thought,' physiologist says
Mar 25, 2008 04:30 AM

RANDY STARKMAN SPORTS REPORTER
The Canadian Olympic team's environmental physiologist says athletes will be breathing easier than most expect in Beijing.

Dr. Jon Kolb of the University of Calgary has been crunching data for a few years now to determine what kind of a problem the pollution poses for Canada's athletes at the 2008 Summer Games.

"My feeling is, based on the measurements we've been doing ... it's not as bad as we all first thought," said Kolb. "Certainly, some people have run away with it, without having done the measurements. From my perspective, I don't think of it being that huge of a concern."

Kolb's assessment jibes with what the International Olympic Committee reported last week, but not with the experience of some American athletes who competed in Beijing last year.

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