Thorpe, Yang have faith in Beijing's ability to curb pollution

At this time four years ago, Ian Thorpe was on mountain tops swimming in what he described as 'tiny, disgusting pools'. In 2004, with less than 200 days until the Olympics, Thorpe, who would end up winning four medals in Athens, was beginning his toughest cycle, swimming at high altitude and doing a lot of a kilometres.

Now, with Beijing less than sevens months away, Thorpe, who retired from swimming in November 2006, is still involved with the sport, although he also has other business interests, including designing an underwear line. He says he will be in Beijing, although he is unsure exactly what his role will be.

'I'm still not certain in what capacity I'll be going to Beijing,' says Thorpe. 'I'll be doing a lot, but I can't be specific with details yet.'

Thorpe, 25, called Beijing the biggest and the most important Olympics, but dispelled the notion that 2008 is China's coming out party. 'That's been and gone,' Thorpe said. 'China's been here and China's been in the press before 2008. I think 2008 should be China's opportunity to celebrate the success that has happened in this country and hopefully will continue to happen. Beijing and the Olympics will blow the world's mind.'

As environmental concerns dominate much of the coverage in the lead-up to the Olympics, Thorpe believes the concerns are valid but much is being done to address the pollution issues.

'With my understanding and with the intentions I've seen of what's happening in Beijing, there's a desire to make it as green as possible and I hope that continues,' Thorpe said.

Thorpe's sentiment was echoed by Olympic speed skater Yang Yang (both were in Hong Kong this week as part of their sponsorship deal with Omega), who said she had confidence the pollution would clear by August.