Beijing 2008 Update: The Air in Beijing Is Kung Pao Spicy

The video you're seeing shot by a tourist on Tiananmen Square is what constitutes problem number one for the organizers of the Beijing Olympic games: the deplorable and possibly dangerous air quality prevalent in all major Chinese cities including the capital and host city of Beijing.

With under a year to go until the opening ceremonies of the Games, the problem remains a serious enough one for Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge to announce that certain endurance events might have to be postponed due to the air quality in Beijing, something authorities have vowed to tackle by limiting the number of cars on the road during the games. A test run was supposed to take place this month, but as with most decision in China, a mysterious cancellation occurred, and Beijing's air remained thick enough to paddle through with a sturdy oar.

How bad is the air in Beijing on the average day? The Canadian Women's Soccer Team trained briefly in Beijing earlier in 2007, and the results were disturbing. According to an NPR report, the players suffered "low grade inflammation" in the back of their throats and a "burning sensation in the lungs" after training for even short periods in Beijing. Greg Anderson, a physiologist working with the team, also reported that the best pollution index they saw while in China was a 170, with the worst being a 240. In comparison, Washington D.C. at its soupiest ranks somewhere around a 40 on the pollution index, with 90 being the level where public health authorities warn people to stay indoors.

If there's no other benefit to this, though, the sight of a marathoner lighting up an unfiltered Marlboro to catch their breath should be comic relief enough. If only golf were an Olympic sport again--we'd send the only man for the job, and his name ain't Tiger. John Daly, Beijing could have been your masterpiece.