Raincoats and Dust Masks: The Olympic Fashion Trend of 2008

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are almost upon us. Despite drastic measures imposed by the CCP to cut pollution -- such as pulling half of its cars from its roads and cutting production at nearby factories -- the Beijing Games are expected to be tainted by poor air quality. Athletes competing in Beijing will face twice the particulate matter in the air than they did in the Barcelona and Athens Games.

Preparing to compete in these conditions is a formidable challenge, but fortunately for the athletes, training to compete in polluted air is not done through exposure, according to Randy Wilbur, exercise physiologist for the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“We have to be extremely careful and steer [athletes] in the right direction… Because if they thought locking themselves in the garage with the car running would help them win a gold medal, I'm sure they would do it.”

Rather, athletes have been training to face what they can prepare for: the heat and humidity. Sporting water-proof rain jackets during workouts, the U.S. Olympians have traveled to train in the hottest and most humid conditions they could find, whether in Houston, Texas or in Nike’s training facilities, which can simulate greenhouse-like conditions. Furthermore, the athletes have been bracing themselves for Beijing by sleeping in high altitude-simulating chambers, which encourage the production of more red blood cells. By preparing for the heat and humidity, and by maintaining peak physical condition, these athletes are as prepared as they can be to take on the smog.

After persevering through all of this intensive training, Olympic athletes are now stalling as long as possible before facing the Beijing air. Many are staying in China’s neighboring countries such as South Korea and Japan, curtailing the period of exposure. When the time comes to brave Beijing’s air, U.S. athletes are encouraged to wear dust masks to minimize exposure.

Avoiding the Olympic city and donning dusk masks... When Olympians begin to take measures such as these, it makes us wonder what the Olympic Games of the future will look like, eight, sixteen, or 32 years down the road. Are dust masks the Olympic trend of the future, or will our world’s cities be more breather-friendly by the XXXIII Games in 2024?