5K: I agree, I say fuck the IOC. Not looking out for the athletes at all.
jmace: look for the video on espn's website. they interviewed athletes who competed over there, all of them mention how sick they felt due to the pollution. in a triathlon only like 8/50 people (worldclass field) finished. they discuss the pollution in great deal in regards to numbers and standards.
here is the video embedded in the article. i recommend watching it.