Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s special drive to check pollution for the upcoming Commonwealth Games is not enough for a few Canadian athletes who have chosen to walkout from the Games.
In an official confirmation, a spokesperson for Athletics Canada, the governing body for track and field sports in Canada, stated “none of our marathoners are planning to go to Delhi because of the pollution and environmental conditions.”
Meanwhile, the other athletes who will arrive from Canada to participate in the Games will probably travel to Singapore to train the days before their event and will leave Delhi immediately after completion of the event, stated the officials of Athletics Canada.
A member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Jon Kolb, has also expressed his concern in an email that some Canadian athletes who will be participating in the Games have asked the World Anti-Doping Agency for permission to use inhalers to cope with air-borne pollutants in Delhi. Mr Kolb added, “I think you will see a lot of athletes drop into Delhi, do their event and take off quickly.”
Earlier, New Zealand’s Marathon medal candidate, Kimberly Smith stated: “I am concerned about pollution and security. My agent doesn’t think it is a good place to run due to pollution.” However, this is not the first time air pollution has been a major concern, said a senior official. Earlier, air pollution was a concern preceding the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Some arriving foreign athletes found the air quality poor enough that they trained by running in the hallways of their hotels.