The British Olympic Association will authorize its athletes to wear anti-pollution masks if they feel they are necessary during the Olympic Games in Beijing in August. Officials in the United States, Australia and Canada have indicated that their athletes will not be using masks during competition. But BOA chief executive Simon Clegg refused to rule out a move that would be extremely embarrassing for China. “This is a competitive issue,” Clegg told The Times newspaper. “We are in the business of trying to win medals and beat our competitors. “We are all hopeful that the Chinese authorities will have addressed this issue by August so the athletes are not put in a position where the measures we have put in place have to be deployed. Britain’s former Commonwealth 1500 metres gold medallist Michael East said he was uncertain about the potential benefits of ‘smog-masks’.

“I doubt whether it would be advantageous and I think I would feel uncomfortable wearing one,” he said. “I am sure you may get local runners using them and I suppose if the physiologists say they are advantageous, I might consider it. “But for the moment, I have to say my answer is ‘no’.” Beijing’s mayor, Guo Jinlong, admitted last month that the sprawling, traffic-choked city faced a massive task in trying to bring pollution down to bearable levels in time for the Games. The International Olympic Committee has warned that endurance events such as the marathon could be postponed or canceled to protect competitors if air-quality standards are not met.

Look on the bright side, they could put the official Beijing Olympic logo on them and sell them in the gift shops. Its a win-win.