Atlanta briefly : Swede eyes long-distance events

Television

Joakim Pahlberg, a Swedish sports fan, is planning to watch the Games from afar, with the aid of a pair of binoculars. Pahlberg, of Skelleftehamn, about 470 miles north of Stockholm, suffers from electromagnetic field sensitivity, a rare condition which forces him to keep away from television sets or other appliances which generate electromagnetic fields.

Consequently, his Olympic schedule is rather different from that of most viewers. During the Games he plans to cycle over to his father-in-law's house, sit down in the garage and watch the television from around 20 yards away through his binoculars.

Approximately 1 to 2 percent of Americans have EMS, according to the Environmental Health Center of Dallas, Texas.