Greg Rutherford is a defending Olympic long jump champion and soon became concerned about the impact of the Zika virus after the medical experts warned of the dangers of hosting the Olympics in Rio. In an article for Standard Issue Magazine, Rutherford’s partner Susie Verrill said the couple, who has a son, wanted more children and did not want to risk acquiring an infection “which could have been prevented”, AFP reported.
Advertisement
“We’ve also made the decision to have Greg’s sperm frozen”.
Zika is widely known to potentially cause serious birth defects in babies, and the outbreak in and around Brazil has been a topic of heated debate where the Olympics are concerned.
World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier on Tuesday noted worries about Zika “because it has been very much in the media, around especially the Rio Olympics”.
“The Zika virus has caused no end of concern, if we’re totally honest”, added Verrill, who cited several reasons why she won’t travel with Rutherford, who is also world and European champion, including the risk of Zika infecting her or Milo. Meanwhile, some athletes have completely withdrawn from the Games.
Potential Olympic athletes worldwide have expressed concern over the Zika outbreak that is heavily affecting the Americas.
Experts predict the number of Zika cases among 500,000 foreigners at the Games will be between one and 16. In addition, the World Health Organization reported that moving or changing the 2016 Olympic Games would not significantly alter the global spread of Zika virus.
“We are 110 per cent comfortable that we can protect everybody that we expect to see [at] the Games, but at the same time, we are 100 per cent ready to respect personal decisions because each and everyone has [their] own reasons”.
Advertisement
“It is worth knowing that the incidence of the mosquito that transmits the virus is extremely low in August and September, which is winter in Brazil and the period in which the Rio 2016 Games will take place”, Rio 2016’s chief medical officer Dr. Joao Grangeiro said in a statement. “The doctors say that we shouldn’t because of the CDC – because of the Zika virus”.
