Pollution in Beijing will not endanger the health of athletes at August's Summer Games, though performances may suffer, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said Saturday.

"The health of the athletes is absolutely not in any danger," Rogge said Saturday. "It might be that some will have to have a slightly reduced performance, but nothing will harm the health of the athletes. The IOC will take care of that."

Jacques Rogge said Saturday in Singapore that athletes' health won't be in danger in Beijing.
(Wong Maye-E/Associated Press)

Rogge and IOC executive board member Sergei Bubka were in Singapore to observe preparations for the first Youth Olympic Games, to be held there in 2010. The Youth Games will feature about 3,200 athletes aged 14-18 competing in 26 sports.

Rogge was asked about the decision by Haile Gebrselassie, the world's greatest distance runner, not to run the men's marathon in Beijing because of concerns over pollution.

"Haile Gebrselassie is arguably the best long-distance runner of the present generation," Rogge said, adding that the runner is "slightly asthmatic."

Rogge was not ruling out the possibility that Gebrselassie could change his mind.

"He decided so far — I'm saying so far because we don't know how things will evolve — not to participate in the marathon," he said. "I would say, wait and see … when he sees the data that we are providing for them."

Rogge had previously said outdoor events in August's Games could be delayed if the air quality was too poor.

Pollution — in addition to the violence in Tibet and other human rights issues — have been a major concern for China and the IOC in the leadup to the Aug. 8-24 Olympics. Some athletes are reportedly considering wearing masks to ward off the bad air in Beijing, while many will delay their arrival in China's capital.

'Drop in physical fitness'

Rogge said the Youth Games would encourage youngsters who were too attached to television sets and computers to be more active.

"We've seen a drop in physical fitness and a rise in obesity in most of the countries, and this is one of the reasons… why we created this Youth Olympic Games: to bring back young people to sport," he said.

Singapore, with a budget of $75 million, will use 24 venues, including one large cluster for 13 sports. Nineteen of the venues already exist, four are to be built as temporary facilities and one is under construction for equestrian.

The Southeast Asian city-state of 4.5 million people beat out Moscow in an IOC vote announced in February.