As the lead exercise physiologist for the US Olympic Committee, Randy Wilber has been fielding one bizarre question after another from American athletes training for the Beijing Games.

Should I run behind a bus and breathe in the exhaust? Should I train on the highway during rush hour? Is there any way to acclimate myself to pollution?Wilber answers with a “No”.

“We have to be extremely careful and steer them in the right direction because the mind-set of the elite athlete is to do anything it takes to get that advantage,” he said. “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. Our job, obviously, is to prevent that.”

Wilber, a 53-year-old scientist based here at the US Olympic Training Center, has spent most of the past two years devising smarter, safer ways for athletes to face the noxious air in Beijing, one of the most polluted cities in the world.

To protect the athletes and keep their lungs clean, Wilber is encouraging them to train elsewhere and arrive in Beijing at the last possible moment. He is also testing possible Olympians to see if they qualify for an International Olympic Committee exemption to use an asthma inhaler. And, in what may be a controversial recommendation, Wilber is urging all the athletes to wear specially designed masks from the minute they step foot in Beijing until they begin competing.

His multipronged strategy could give the US team a marked advantage over teams from less prepared countries. But the plan has a downside: It runs the risk of offending the host country, creating political tension.

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