Olympic Athletes to Train in Japan to Avoid Beijing Air
apan is becoming the destination of choice this summer for athletes looking to prepare for the Beijing Olympics while dodging China's notorious pollution.
According to the Japan Olympic Committee, Germany, Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands have made arrangements for some of their athletes to train in Japan ahead of the Olympics and more are expected to follow.
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest daily, reported that as many as 20 countries are looking to have their athletes train in Japan before the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics.
Japan's proximity to China and its modern facilities make it an attractive place for athletes to prepare for the Olympics.
A flight from Tokyo to Beijing takes less than four hours and there are many direct flights to Beijing from cities in western Japan.
Sweden will set up a training camp in Fukuoka for 150 athletes while Belgium is looking at a training facility in nearby Kumamoto.
Jana Rawlinson of Australia, the world champion in the 400-meter hurdles, said she'll train in Japan and arrive in Beijing on Aug. 15 _ a week after the Games open.
Rawlinson acknowledged the pollution might not be as bad as expected but still plans to train elsewhere.
``I am going to avoid it until I have to race in it,'' said Rawlinson.
Other athletes and officials were reluctant to publicly cite air pollution and food quality in China as reasons for training in Japan.
``We picked the same place where we prepared last year for the world championships (in Osaka) because we had a very good experience there,'' Eberhard Vollmer, a spokesman for the German athletics federation, said Thursday. ``The climate is nearly identical, we can work off the jet lag and just the entire surroundings were good.''
Vollmer said concerns over air quality in Beijing weren't behind the decision to have German athletes train in Japan.
Britain's swimming team, which took part in a meet in Japan last summer, will also train in Osaka.
``We chose Osaka for the familiarity of the area for the British swimmers and coaches and the quality of the facility,'' said David Richards, media manager for British Swimming. ``It also has easy access to Beijing.''
In attempt to curb air pollution during the Games, Beijing organizers will close factories, halt construction and ban more than 1 million vehicles from the roads.
Thu February 7, 2008 03:38 EST
JIM ARMSTRONG
AP Sports Writer
TOKYO
apan is becoming the destination of choice this summer for athletes looking to prepare for the Beijing Olympics while dodging China's notorious pollution.