China curbs Tibet information flow
China has succeeded in stemming the flow of information out of Tibet in recent days, according to Tibetan activists in India who had relied on e-mails and mobile phone calls to piece together the extent of a Chinese military crackdown on pro-Tibet demonstrations.

-- FT

Beijing Smog Raises Health Fears
Athletes and spectators attending next year's Olympic Games in Beijing face major health risks, a leading air pollution expert has told BBC Sport.

--BBC

Say you were an athlete readying to compete in the summer Olympics and you read the above news snippets in between training sessions. Knowing that waiting another 4 years can make a huge performance difference, would you compete in this year's Olympics or would you choose to boycott them? I know I'd have a difficult time with that choice.

Even worse, I'd bet money that China is leaning on the sponsors with [factories in / large trade relations with] China (like Nike) to lean on coaches and athletes.

And all you wanted to do was just run.