What if athletes protest during Beijing Olympics?

OLYMPIAN PROTEST: Will winners be stripped of medals if they wear "Free Tibet" T-shirts at the podium?

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Hamburg: Olympic officials appear unsure about what will happen to athletes who stage protests against host country China during the Beijing Games in August.

The Olympic Charter outlaws any kind of political statements in Olympic areas, but it is not fully clear whether a winner who decides to wear a "Free Tibet" T-shirt at the medal ceremony will be stripped of the gold.

Neither Swedish IOC vice-president Gunilla Lindberg of Sweden nor veteran German IOC member Walter Troeger were able to clear up the issue when asked Wednesday.

China's crackdown on protests in Tibet and its human rights situation in general may have so far not led to a full boycott threat, but athletes appear ready to speak and act over the issue during the Aug 8-24 Games.

German pole vaulter Anna Battke said she was ready to stage a protest during the opening ceremony and hoped for others to join in.

Another German vaulter, Danny Ecker, suggested that athletes could wear armbands to protest the Chinese.

The German Olympic Committee has encouraged its athletes to speak freely within Olympic rules. There was a controversy in Britain when Olympic Committee BOA attempted going one step further by trying to gag its athletes by making them sign a special clause.

But BOA spokesman Graham Newsom said: "We're not trying to gag athletes. If an athlete gets asked a direct question they will be allowed to answer that question, but there is a difference between giving an honest answer to actually going out to make a specific political point."

The incident shows that athletes must be careful not to overstep the limits, outside the Olympic area as well.

Even retired triple jump star Jonathan Edwards agreed, saying that "there has to be some team discipline; there has to be some sense of pride, order and decorum in representing your country".