Zika virus: Who else is missing Rio Olympics?
Here are the other would-be Olympians to decide to stay away for health reasons, and a few of those who are thinking about it.
The Fijian golfer and former world number one was the first to confirm he would be swerving Rio de Janeiro because of fears over the mosquito-borne illness that is linked to birth defects in newborn babies.
Leishman almost lost his wife to toxic shock syndrome last year and she is still prone to infection. A former US PGA Rookie of the Year, Leishman tied for second place at the Open last year. His announcement last month was received with much more sympathy than the likes of Louis Oosthuizen and Adam Scott, who have said they are not going to Rio either because they are too busy playing golf elsewhere.
The 27-year-old American cyclist became the first non-golfer to say he would not be going because of risks associated with the Zika virus earlier this month. The bumpy course in Rio might have suited Van Garderen but his wife is pregnant and he said that had to be his “priority”, particularly as he is young enough to get another Olympic chance in 2020.
Fears about the long-term threat the virus poses to those thinking about having children are shared by defending Olympic long jump champion. The 29-year-old Brit said his family will not be coming to Rio, and revealed he has frozen a sample of his sperm because he and his partner would like more children.
Earlier this year, when concerns about the Zika virus first starting to make headlines, the boss of Kenya’s Olympic committee Kip Keino said they would not send any athletes to Brazil if the problem reached “epidemic levels”.
Officials later played down this suggestion and more recently Kenya’s involvement in Rio has been threatened by concerns over its anti- doping record.
But public health experts have repeatedly made the point that poorer nations are at much greater risk from the spread of Zika than wealthy countries.
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