Issei Kato/Ruetors on TimesOnline.co.uk

Four US Olympic cyclists have apologized to Beijing Olympic organizers after arriving in the Beijing airport wearing smog masks. The four riders, Mike Friedman, Bobby Lee, Sarah Hammer and Jennie Reed, all claimed to be wearing the masks because of pollution fears, striking a nerve with Chinese authorities.

Pollution in the often smog-filled city of Beijing remains a concern as the start of the Olympic games approaches. One athlete, Ethiopian world record holder Haile Gegrselassie, already withdrew from the marathon competition fearing for his health.

Chinese authorities have already removed one million of the cities 3.3 million cars from the roads and shut down more than 100 pollution-causing factories in hopes of clear skies over Beijing. Figures from China’s official Environmental Monitoring Center have deemed the air quality to be “fairly good” and Chinese officials have insisted that the air quality continues to be safe for athletes despite a persistent murky haze hanging over the city.

Chinese organizers reiterated in a press conference on Wednesday just how blue the skies were, how safe the air was and how nothing worth talking about every happened in Tibet.

The US Olympic Committee confirmed that around 200 athletes have received masks through the national body. And while USOC chief Jim Sherr hopes the athletes will not need to use them, he has also stated that the USOC would not ban its athletes from using masks while in Beijing.

One Dark Side Olympic insider who has been monitoring the athletes in Beijing has found athletes making regular use of the masks are reporting fewer problems with congestion and shortness of breath. “And on top of that,” said the source, “if you shove an air freshener inside the mask, you really cut down on that ‘wet dog’ smell that the whole damn country seems to have.”

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