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US Athletes Weigh Wearing Masks in Beijing

Specially designed masks would blunt smog—and irk hosts

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 21, 2008 11:34 AM CDT
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(Newser) – To protect its athletes from Beijing’s polluted air, the US Olympic Committee has secretly developed a mask for them to wear during next month’s Games, the Wall Street Journal reports. But if the 600-plus American Olympians decide to wear the high-tech filter, they risk insulting their Chinese hosts—not to mention looking like geeks.

“I probably will want to wear it,” says triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker. “Whether I will be allowed to is a different issue.” Adds a team official of the cultural ramifications, “When you're walking around with a mask on, you're basically saying, ‘You guys stink.’” Some point out that all athletes face the same air-quality issues; the top Olympics official, meanwhile, says masks will be “totally useless.”

China's National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, is seen a month before the opening of the Olympic Games, in Beijing Tuesday July 8, 2008.
China's National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, is seen a month before the opening of the Olympic Games, in Beijing Tuesday July 8, 2008.   (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
Chinese workers labor on scaffolding erected to build an Olympics exhibit at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China Monday, July 14, 2008.
Chinese workers labor on scaffolding erected to build an Olympics exhibit at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China Monday, July 14, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A Chinese paramilitary soldier patrols inside a fence near the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, China, Thursday, July 10, 2008.
A Chinese paramilitary soldier patrols inside a fence near the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, China, Thursday, July 10, 2008.   (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)
A woman breathes through a mask to filter out sand particles and other pollution in the air on a windy day in Beijing, China, Tuesday, May 27, 2008.
A woman breathes through a mask to filter out sand particles and other pollution in the air on a windy day in Beijing, China, Tuesday, May 27, 2008.   (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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Beijing hurries to clean air for Olympics
Wall Street Journal

 
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