Special report:   2008 Olympic Games         

    QINGDAO, July 5 (Xinhua) — The training area for the athletes participating in the August Olympic sailing competitions has been cleared of thick green algae in the host city of Qingdao.

    ”If the weather is cooperative, athletes will be able to complete their sailing courses at the training areas,” said Yuan Zhiping, assistant to the chairman of the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee, on Saturday.

    Yuan said the invading algae, called enteromorpha prolifera, would be wiped out in the competition area before July 15.

    ”Actually, I hope the clearance will be complete ahead of schedule, so the athletes will have more time to get used to the competition venue,” said Yuan.

    Thousands of soldiers and volunteers are still cleaning the bright green algae, which was first spotted at the end of May and started to bloom in mid-June.

    Inflatable barriers have also been placed near the coastline to prevent the algae from encroaching on the shore.

    According to an emergency headquarters set up to clean the algae, its coverage in the sailing competition areas, which span more than 50 square kilometers, had shrunk from 32 percent five days ago to less than 10 percent by Friday.

    But an aerial survey shows 339 square kilometers of the green growth floating along the shoreline of the city and parts of the Yellow Sea, authorities said.

    The algae also covered part of the training area, where sailors from 26 countries and regions are training, and the algae sometimes blocked sailing routes and affected preparations for the Games.

    Sailors said they had to stop during training to clean the algae off their boats.

    The sailing competitions are scheduled from Aug. 9 to 23.

    Experts from the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) are working to determine the source and cause of the algae outbreak.

    The SOA was monitoring the route of the algae flow into the Olympic venue with current bottles. Experts dropped 80 bottles in the water around the venue after the bloom was spotted.

    They concluded some algae was from the waters of Rizhao and Jiaonan to the south of Qingdao.