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 Australian IOC member John Coates, after meeting Tuesday with heads of other Olympic delegations and Beijing organizers, called Beijing's choking pollution "a prevailing worry for most of us."
"We will be not recommending a long period in China before the games," Coates said, a day before the countdown clock reaches one year until the games open. "That only is going to increase the possibility of respiratory or gastric illness
-- particularly if you are not living in the village."
Coates, also president of the Australian Olympic Committee, said his athletes would be going to China four or five days before their first events.
"They (Chinese organizers) are very, very conscious of it," Coates said. "They knows it's a concern to the IOC. All we can do is trust that they will do everything possible."
He said Beijing officials told him that plans were in place to ban vehicles from Beijing's streets, perhaps as early as next week. That would coincide with several weeks of test events in Beijing.
"They said cars will be coming off the road for a trial period," Coates said.
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Tuesday was another smog filled day in the Chinese capital, greeting IOC president Jacques Rogge and hundreds of Olympic officials on hand for Wednesday night's celebration in Tiananmen Square.
"It certainly doesn't look too good here in downtown Beijing," Coates said.
Coates said he was less concerned about food safety next year.
On Monday, Beijing officials said global positioning satellites and other high-tech devices would be used to ensure food safety at the Beijing Olympics.
"The IOC pays very special attention to the quality of food in the Olympic Villages," Coates said. "We don't expect that to be a problem, but we will still be advising our athletes to eat in the village, not in local food stores. Be careful with bottled water and take every precaution."
[Associated Press;
by Stephen Wade]
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