BEIJING • Four American cyclists apologized Wednesday for arriving at Beijing’s airport in respiratory masks, then U.S. Olympic Committee leaders criticized their actions and tried to ease tensions with Summer Games organizers.

Track cyclists Sarah Hammer, Bobby Lea, Jennie Reed and Mike Friedman, an Olympic Training Center resident, wore USA Cycling-issued black masks Tuesday that covered their noses and mouths.

“The wearing of protective masks upon our arrival into Beijing was strictly a precautionary measure we as athletes chose to take and was in no way meant to serve as an environmental or political statement,” the cyclists said in a statement. “We deeply regret the nature of our choices. Our decision was not intended to insult (the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee) or countless others who have put forth a tremendous amount of effort to improve the air quality in Beijing.”

Pollution continues to stymie the Chinese capital despite halts in construction and the banning of half of the city’s 3.3 million private cars, creating the likelihood that the Olympics will begin in earnest Friday under a gray haze.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has said delays in competition are possibilities in outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour, such as cycling, marathon and triathlon.

The USOC gave national governing bodies of Olympic sports about 200 masks – there are 596 Americans competing in Beijing – with an activated carbon filtration system to eliminate pollutants.

“You got to take every chance you have just to protect the airways,” Friedman told The Associated Press. “It’s really just taking every precaution necessary. Who knows how bad it’s going to be in a few days?”

USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth said the Colorado Springs-based organization won’t forbid athletes from wearing the masks, provided it’s in good taste.

“Why would you wear the masks when you get off the airplane in the airport?” Ueberroth said. “If you invite 600 people to an event, a party, in your home, there’s probably somebody who is going to do something that’s not quite perfect. You never want to go to somebody else’s place and cause any embarrassment. In this case, I think they did.”

Jim Scherr, chief executive officer of the USOC, called the cyclists “a little bit overcautious. Those athletes regret that action and have written an apology to BOCOG on their own behalf. They now realize and understand how their actions were perceived by the host nation and the organizing committee. It wasn’t in the best judgment.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazettedev.gazette.com. Check out our Olympics blog at gazetteolympics.freedomblogging.com

U.S. men’s 1,500-meter runner Lopez Lomong gestures as he speak at an interview at a hotel in Dalian, Liaoning province, China, during training for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Photo by The Associated Press

ANDY WONG