IOC's Rogge Says Masks To Fight Beijing Pollution Will Be Useless

Rogge Comes Out Against Pollution Masks For Beijing Olympics

IOC President Jacques Rogge has told the British Olympic Association its plan to develop a face mask for athletes to combat pollution at this summer's Beijing Olympic Games will be "totally useless," according to David Bond of the London TELEGRAPH. Rogge yesterday said that there is "no evidence a face mask will help" against pollution. His comments came a day after Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, the world-record holder in the marathon, said that he would not run the marathon at the Beijing Games because of "fears over the city's smog." Rogge: "The unanimous report of our medical commission is that the masks are not efficient. The use of masks in competition fall under the rules of the federations and some will not allow it. Others will be ambivalent. I recommend the athletes not to wear masks because our experts say they are not efficient. They can do whatever they want, but I am telling them it's totally useless" (London TELEGRAPH, 3/12).