Olympic Sport – To Play or Not to Play – Beijing’s Dilemma

Haile Gebrselassie is skipping the Beijing 2008 Olympics to focus on breaking his World Record in the marathon in Berlin.

Most children in the playground pretend they are their top sport heroes, winning the championships or the gold medals, waving their flag or wearing their team colours. But some athletes are now declining to participate on the world’s stage.

Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, the world record holder for the marathon, originally cited the air pollution quality as the reason why he would not participate in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics. Gebrselassie did indicate his willingness to compete in the 10,000 metre athletics race. Since then, he has clarified that he wants to improve his world record time at the 2008 Berlin Marathon, a course known for its fast times, and where he set the record in 2007.

Prior to her surprise retirement announcement in May, Belgian tennis player Justine Henin also had originally expressed concern about Beijing’s air quality, as she suffers from asthma. However, her medical advisors had given her the clearance to play, and she indicated support for the games, regardless of any political debate surrounding the games. “I’m an athlete – my job is to play tennis,” explained Henin while at the Qatar Telecom German Open in May.

On the other hand, French tennis player Marion Bartoli, currently in the top ten of the world, declined to play in Beijing. Under qualification rules for tennis, players must make themselves available for their country’s Federation Cup teams, which Bartoli declined. Bartoli explained her decision to ICSSPE, “It’s not due to politics or human rights. But to go and do all that travel, and make some commitment to go to a country where you cannot breathe….there is like a cloud of pollution around you.”

Another reason is that the 23 year old Bartoli, like Gebrselassie, also wants to concentrate more on her professional career. “My focus right now is the Grand Slam. I’d love to play in London in 2012 – it’s closer to home, I’ll be 27, and at that time I’d like to think about different achievements. But right now, it’s playing in the top ten and staying there.”

And Bartoli isn’t alone in that regard – US tennis player Andy Roddick, a mainstay on his country’s Davis Cup teams, withdrew from Beijing citing his desire to focus on the US Open championships.

The 2008 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (a partnership between ICSSPE, the IOC, the IPC and FIMS) will occur in Guangzhou, China, just prior to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. Keynotes, Symposia, Posters, and Oral presentations will examine issues such as Olympic participation and performance of elite athletes. For more information, and to register, visit www.icsemis2008.org.