Kiwis won't choke says Olympic boss

Choking will not be an acceptable excuse from New Zealand athletes in pollution-hit Beijing.

Australia has told athletes they can withdraw if air pollution poses a health threat, but the New Zealand Olympic Committee will not give its team a free pass out of events.

NZOC secretary-general Barry Maister said the team had been there before and knew what to expect. "Our athletes are going there to compete," he said. "They've been in lots of Olympics and lots of places with pollution problems. Our athletes have had seven years to prepare. I don't anticipate anyone not wanting to compete."

World-record holder Haile Gebreselassie, of Ethiopia, has pulled out of the marathon, citing fears that the pollution will aggravate his asthma.

Air pollution in Beijing has been triple the level recommended by the World Health Organisation for four days in the past week. Wind and rain helped clear Beijing's sky yesterday, leaving officials hopeful of blue skies when the games start in just over a week.

Chinese authorities are considering an unprecedented ban on all cars, except for a small number of essential vehicles, from the roads of Beijing in the 48 hours before the August 8 opening ceremony.

However, Maister said the pollution in the Chinese capital was not as bad as a smoggy night in Christchurch.

"I have run in Beijing and, while it looks yucky, it's not like the pollution in Christchurch, which makes your clothes smell. It's almost like fog, rather than pollution."

Some New Zealand athletes, including the hockey teams, will arrive late because of concerns about pollution.

Canterbury trap shooter Graeme Ede, who flies out of New Zealand tonight, said the smog made it hard to see the clay targets in his event - which travel up to 75 metres after being released from the trap - as they whizzed away.

"But we normally get them shot before they get too far," he said. "It's like shooting in dull conditions."

Ede, the Commonwealth Games champion, competed at the Beijing Shooting Range during a World Cup event in April, when he found the targets looking "a bit murky" in the smog.

"They were disappearing a little bit on the first three days, but then it rained overnight and cleared the air a bit."

Ede has geared training toward overcoming the gloom.

"This time, I planned to train in poorer light conditions. I just wait for a miserable day or sometimes train just before the light goes."

The New Zealand football and rowing teams are already in Beijing. Most of the 182-strong Olympic squad will arrive during the next 10 days.

LITTLE RED LOOK

* The women's hockey players from Great Britain, pictured, use red contact lenses to see more clearly.

* New Zealand athletes have been issued masks to wear in the Olympic Village, but not during competition.

* Other teams, including the United States, Japan and Malaysia, may also wear masks.

* Australian athletes can withdraw from any event if their health is threatened.

* Canada's track and field team is based in Singapore till a few days into the Olympics.

- The Press and NZPA