Beijing push for votes hits top gear as China's star athletes Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo weigh in
Skating heroes join effort to secure 2022 Winter Games for Chinese capital, but lack of snow and pollution remain potential stumbling blocks
Two of China's most storied Olympic athletes faced some tough questions yesterday about Beijing bid's for the 2022 Winter Games - namely about air pollution and a lack of snow.
Gold medallist pairs figure skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo came out of retirement to win gold at Vancouver in 2010, then retired again.
The husband and wife are two of the Beijing bid's ambassadors trying to convince the IOC that the capital should be given hosting rights over Almaty, Kazakhstan. The vote will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
On the sidelines of the start of the IOC's executive board meetings yesterday, the couple was asked about pollution in the city and the lack of snow at the mountain venues of Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, is trying to become the first city to host both a summer and winter games.
Shen said many Olympic ski competitions need artificial snow and "that is something that happens at many Winter Games".