Rio bound Galway physio not running scared of Zika virus
Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon
If it were not for the infamous Zika virus – and all the furore around the top professional golfers’ withdrawal from competition – you could be forgiven if the build-up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro passed you by.
While a record number of countries will participate in a record number of sports from August 5 to 21 at the 31st Olympic Games, the hype leading into arguably the greatest sporting showpiece on earth has been subdued or, at the very least, overshadowed by other matters.
One controversy has been the ongoing debacle around the participation of Russian athletes in the Games following the incredible revelations in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report into state-sponsored doping in Russia.
The other high profile story has been that surrounding the outbreak in Brazil of the Zika virus, the mosquito-borne illness which can cause birth defects and, in adults, has been linked to the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre.
This led many of the top pro golfers including Rory McIlroy to withdraw from the Olympics on the grounds of health concerns. The move riled the amateur athletes who believed it showed that pro competitors did not put the same value on winning an Olympic medal.
Galway-based physical therapist, Michelle Biggins, who travels with the Irish team to Brazil, tends to agree with the latter. “The Olympic Council of Ireland has kept us really well informed. Obviously, the virus was a concern initially and we all did a lot of research on it.
“They (Council) actually brought us together and the Medical Council gave us a very good presentation on the facts that were there. They did test events from January to June this year and 17,000 athletes competed in those and there hasn’t been any case of the Zika virus being contracted by any of the athletes.
“From those stats, the risk of contracting the virus is very low. It is also going to be the lowest mosquito season at the time of the year we are there. So, I think this is more of a question of golf being in the Olympics rather than the Zika virus. The Olympics hasn’t ever been a priority for top golfers and it doesn’t register for them I don’t think. I don’t know.”
The 31-year-old Glencorrib native insists though she has no worries about the Zika virus. “The thing is, unless you are pregnant when you contract the virus, and I am not pregnant,” she adds hastily, “it should not be an issue.”
For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.