Olympic road cyclists risking their health?

[fiamme red]

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSPEK8843220080402?sp=true

Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC coordination commission, said there was a small chance of athletes suffering some damage to their health if they took part in events lasting longer than an hour, such as the marathon and cycling road races.

[Fixed]

bro i don't think they should go with that and the tibet thing ...yeah but who are we to talk
cheers

[johnnymossville]

even in that pea soup, errr... duck sauce smog they have over there.

I am kind of enjoying the spotlight all this hoopla is putting on China this year. Nice to see a little diversion from all the America hating going on everywhere.

Will it change anything? No idea.

[J.Greene]

Will it change anything? No idea.

China is very sensitive about it's image right now. I have hoped for a few years that the games would propel china to adress it's enviromental issues.

JG

[johnnymossville]

China is very sensitive about it's image right now. I have hoped for a few years that the games would propel china to adress it's enviromental issues.

JG

You and me both. I had high hopes for the games. I guess the idealist in me, along with the olympic committee and as it seems most, thought the same thing. I'm very skeptical though now.

[Fixed]

they are to turn off the machines for the games i heard to clean up the air
no cars ..no coal burning for the games

[e-RICHIE]

it's the jet lag that dissuaded me from trying
out for the team, not the air pollution atmo.

[jerk]

it's the jet lag that dissuaded me from trying
out for the team, not the air pollution atmo.


see with me it was the fact that i don't really like chinese food.

jerk

[AgilisMerlin]

can you wear a gas mask, in a uci event......... ?

[erikbrooks]

see with me it was the fact that i don't really like chinese food.

jerk

I heard that the Chinese are really pissed when they heard that the US olympic team will bring their own food.

[kgreene10]

I recently heard an NPR face-off between a member of the IOC and an activist promoting a boycott of the opening ceremony (and only the opening ceremony).

I was extremely unimpressed with the IOC member who dismissed human rights violations blithely and excused athletes from thinking about political and social problems. This is an old, tired, and stupid argument.

An athlete has just as much responsibility as anyone (and perhaps as anyone in the international spotlight) to consider the moral ramifications of their actions, ATMO.

Opinions?

[e-RICHIE]

An athlete has just as much responsibility as anyone (and perhaps as anyone in the international spotlight) to consider the moral ramifications of their actions, ATMO.

Opinions?
mebbe they should skip the trip altogether atmo.

[J.Greene]

Opinions?

China won the right to host the games years ago. They are no worse now than then. Now is not the time to protest. I say we should shut up and beat their effin pants off.

btw, we should be thanking them for funding our war and our deficit spending habits ( that's sarcasm).

JG

[kgreene10]

Now is not the time to protest.
JG

I disavow you, my namesake!

[Bill Bove]

it's the jet lag that dissuaded me from trying
out for the team, not the air pollution atmo.
for me it was the total lack of talent :(

as far as boycotting goes, no. nothing changed when we didn't go to moscow but some guys who worked really hard got screwed. i say go and if any athlete wants to pull a tommy jones and wave a tibeten flag from the podium i'll buy whatever product he goes on to endorse.

[J.Greene]

I disavow you, my namesake!

I love to fight the good fight, check the archives. I just ask myself where was everyone who is against china's human rights record when it mattered?

Let the athletes be athletes.

are you one of the Greene's from the Nina, pinta or Santa Marie?

we were on the Nina, eventually to found Canada, but left it alone because it was worthless.

JG

[kgreene10]

As I understand it (but haven't followed it in-depth), the IOC was uninterested in hearing from human rights advocates when deciding where the Olympics should go.

I was swayed by the activist on NPR who argued not for a boycott by the athletes but for a boycott of the opening ceremony only by world governments. On first blush, it seems that this would accomplish both goals -- advertise China's indefensible politics to the world but allow athletes who have worked hard to compete in one of the world's most prestigious competition.

I'm with the Greene's who came over in steerage with a different name and then changed to Greene because it sounded better. So I guess we aren't organic namesakes. I re-avow you (if it matters) :).

[J.Greene]

I hear you KG.

One observation.....China has been the biggest buyer of US treasury bonds the last 5 years. Can we really affor to embarass our ally? That is the sacry part, they have been a huge ally to our economy. Boycotting is stupid symbolism imho.

JG

As I understand it (but haven't followed it in-depth), the IOC was uninterested in hearing from human rights advocates when deciding where the Olympics should go.

I was swayed by the activist on NPR who argued not for a boycott by the athletes but for a boycott of the opening ceremony only by world governments. On first blush, it seems that this would accomplish both goals -- advertise China's indefensible politics to the world but allow athletes who have worked hard to compete in one of the world's most prestigious competition.

I'm with the Greene's who came over in steerage with a different name and then changed to Greene because it sounded better. So I guess we aren't organic namesakes. I re-avow you (if it matters) :).

[majorpat]

around here someplace...