Asthma Specialist Will Accompany Australian Olympic Team To Beijing - AFP

Australia will include an asthma specialist in its 50-strong medical team accompanying competitors to next year's Beijing Olympics amid pollution fears for athletes.

Poor air quality in Beijing, one of the world's most polluted cities, is a chief concern for many of the 10,000 athletes competing at the August 8-24 Olympics next year.

Some competitors plan to arrive in Beijing at the last moment before they compete to avoid the potential health risks from bad air.

Karen Holzer, an internationally respected asthma specialist, said endurance athletes were the most at risk in Beijing. "I'm sure I've been selected because of the particularly challenging conditions we're going to be facing -- basically heat, humidity and poor air quality," Holzer told Thursday's Sydney Morning Herald.

EDIT

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Asthma_expert_in_Aussie_Olympic_tea_06132007.html

I can imagine at least some of the athletes saying "eff you" and refusing to compete. I think it would take me about 30 seconds in that air for me to reach that conclusion.