Written by Karen Crouse at New York Times.com
The Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro may end up known more for the athletes who are not there than the ones who are.
The golfer Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that he would skip the Rio Games, which are set to begin in August, because of concerns about the Zika virus, becoming the highest-profile athlete yet to withdraw over the health scare.
Because of doping offenses, Russia’s track and field team and Bulgaria’s weight lifting team — rosters that would have included several gold medal contenders — have been told they are not welcome at the Rio Games. Some Kenyan athletes are also in danger of being barred because of doping.
McIlroy, a hugely popular sports figure who was scheduled to play for Ireland, joins a growing list of athletes pulling out of the Games over Zika concerns, among them the American cyclist Tejay van Garderen and thegolfers Marc Leishman of Australia and Vijay Singh of Fiji.
John Speraw, the coach of the United States men’s volleyball team, has said he will preserve sperm for a possible future pregnancy before traveling to Rio, and the Spanish basketball star Pau Gasol has said he is considering doing the same.
Anxiety over Zika, a mosquito-borne virus linked to severe birth defects, has cast a cloud over preparations for the Summer Games. With six weeks to go until the Games begin, McIlroy’s decision is expected to intensify the debate over the wisdom of staging the Games amid a public health emergency. Olympic officials have rejected the notion that athletes should not be asked to subject themselves to such health hazards, saying the risk is minimal.
McIlroy’s decision is a major blow for the Olympics, and not simply because he is a former world No. 1 and winner of four majors. McIlroy, 27, the highest-ranked European in the world at No. 4, was one of the few high-profile golfers who seemed committed to competing in Rio. He had gone to the trouble of being vaccinated per travel recommendations — no small inconvenience as the shots left his shoulder numb, he said, making it uncomfortable to swing a golf club for two days.
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