China's air pollution to keep marathon world record-holder out of Olympics. Is it that bad?

Question

Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie pulls out of Beijing marathon because of pollution. The marathon world record-holder said yesterday that he was unlikely to compete at the Beijing Olympics because China’s air pollution would damage his health.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article3521537.ece

Answer 1

Is that bad?  Bad for whome?  The runner?  The Chinese?  The Olympics?  The other athletes?  Ethiopia?

It's his decision.

Answer 2

I worked on a ship in Taiwan for a few hours a couple times.   The air was so bad there that we couldn't see more than 300 or so feet.  After a short time your lungs began to burn and eyes water.   I wore a resperator and airtight goggles and still was uncomfortable and I was only standing gangway watch.   I can't imagine what mainland china must be like.

  Maybe china is getting ahead of us by building all the cheap toys, food, computers... but I'd rather not die too many years before my time should be up.

Answer 3

its as bad or worse than the air around U.S. industrial city's in the 1960s. young people in the U.S. today  don't realize what pollution was like 40 years ago before we cleaned it up.

the cuyahoga river in Cleveland used to actually catch fire & burn occasionally &the LA area always had a nasty yellow brown dome over it that burned your eyes & nose.

be glad you dont know what pollution looks like.

Answer 4

Look it up on youtube... its pretty bad.