The Chinese capital, which will host the Olympics in August of next year, is one of the most polluted cities in the world and is regularly blanketed in thick smog, despite the city government's efforts to reduce pollutants.
"I think it is…important to remember that environmental challenges are not new to the Olympic Games and that athletes and their coaches are very experienced in trying to anticipate the requirements needed for top-level performances," the IOC president said in a series of written replies to questions to mark the 500-day countdown to the Games.
"In Athens, for example, there were issues of heat, and the Los Angeles and Seoul Olympic Games had challenges with air quality.”
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