Golf is plunging the Olympics into a genuine crisis and must be making those who selected it to come back to the games wish they had delayed four years.
Shane Lowry was grabbing the headlines yesterday as he joined Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell in declaring themselves unavailable for participation based on health concerns over the Zika virus.
It’s not only in Ireland though. World number one Jason Day has made a similar call following making him the seventh Major winner to say no.
Steph Curry in Basketball and Tejay Van Garderen in Cycling have also withdrawn and London 2012 Standard bearer for Team GB Jessica Ennis-Hill has issued a statement saying that “I have to make sure I understand what’s happening and what the risks are. It’s something I have to be on top of.”
Media
The golfers have forced the issue centre stage in media terms and that will only raise more concerns among family and athletes over whether, if it is not deemed safe enough for the stars, whether the risk, however slight it is, might be too much for them.
Russian athletes are already banned from competing and there is a real danger that the mosquito borne virus, could bring the games back to the era of the 80’s when Olympic Games were decimated by athlete withdrawals due to political reasons.
RTÉ News last night carried a report on the possible breakthrough in creating an antidote for the virus but will have raised rather than assuaged concerns by carrying photographs of children who have been born with microcephaly as part of the 91,000 cases tagged as being due to Zika in Brazil.
There is frustration among sporting administrators that the low level of genuine risk, as determined by the best independent medical experts, is being swept aside in media coverage of the big names withdrawals.
Irish athletes cannot escape the media noise around our three world class golfers stopping away.
Frustration
The media mood music has been one of respect for personal decisions but thinly disguised frustration at the fact that the news is threatening to prompt a domino effect.
The health of a future unborn child is as emotional as it can get. That such a factor is playing on the minds and in the hearts of athletes and their families at a time when they should be focused single minded on giving their best is unfair but so too is life at times.
We wrote at the time of Rory McIlroy’s withdrawal that not all athletes were in a position to make the same choices as ones who made millions from their sporting talent and were involved in a sport for which the Olympics was one in a series of high point rather than the culmination of a lifetime commitment.
That was not to take shots at the golfers but to highlight what their choice in this instance was likely to do to the minds of those who we know little of.
It’s not only athletes as well. We spoke to one member of the media last week who was concerned that their opinion had not been sought on the safety of travelling to cover the Games. It will be the same for sports marketers and sponsors.
Sport for Business ran a social media poll last week asking the question if you were selected to take part in the Olympic Games, would you go, given what you know about Zika. The answer came back two thirds in favour of participating. That was from a broad audience answering a hypothetical question.
If the same split came back from those who are facing it in real life, then the Games have a very serious crisis to overcome.
It’s a horrible position to be in. It’s unfair that so much of the coverage of the Olympics preparation is given over to this rather than the stories of the athletes.
Unfortunately it’s also not going to go away.
Sport for Business’ Coverage of the 2016 Olympic Games is supported by Team Ireland Official Partner Electric Ireland #ThePowerWithin
