Two American athletes confirm good air quality in Beijing

(BEIJING, August 13) -- US track and field athletes Bernard Lagat and Jeremy Wariner said on August 13 that Beijing's air quality is fairly good, allowing them to train and compete here as usual.

Thirty-three-year-old Lagat said that before arriving in Beijing he had read a number of articles on the city's poor air quality, reporting that often visibility was less than 20 meters. His worries were dispelled however upon landing in the capital city when he noticed the good air quality.

Defending 400-meter champion Jeremy Wariner expressed the same sentiment, that the pollution in Beijing is not as serious as foreign media had claimed.

The two athletes' impression of good air quality in Beijing goes to show the Chinese saying, "words are but wind, but seeing is believing".