Senate-USOC exchange concerns plans about Zika ‘virus’ in Rio Oly
‘Champion shooter Diamond needs help’
NEW YORK, May 24, (Agencies): A group of Democratic senators is concerned about how the Zika virus might affect American athletes at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this summer.
Sen Barbara Boxer, D-Calif, was one of 11 senators to sign a letter sent Monday to the US Olympic Committee asking what steps it is taking to protect athletes against the spread of the mosquito-borne virus.
The letter cited recent information from the Centers for Disease Control showing a link between the disease and a birth defect, microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with undersized brains and skulls.
USOC CEO Scott Blackmun responded by outlining steps the federation has taken, including the forming of an infectious disease advisory group with doctors who are available to answer athletes’ questions about the virus.
Blackmun said the USOC has created a medical emergency response plan to “provide pre-identified medical management strategies for any illness or injury in Rio.”
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy took a long time to decide he would represent Ireland at the 2016 Rio Olympics but the 27-year-old world number three could now miss golf’s return to the Games after a 112-year absence because of concerns over the Zika virus.
The Northern Irishman had threatened to skip the Olympics as he agonised over representing Great Britain or Ireland in Brazil but after opting for the latter in 2014, the mosquitoborne disease may lead the four-times major winner to avoid the Games.
Australia’s most decorated Olympic shooter Michael Diamond needed help with personal problems long before he was arrested for drink driving and firearms offences at the weekend, said former team mate
Russell Mark.
Diamond, who won back-to-back trap gold medals at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics, was charged with “high range drink driving, not keeping firearm safe and handling or using firearm while under the influence of alcohol”.
While his arrest has jeopardised his chances of appearing at a seventh Olympics in Brazil in August, Mark, the double trap champion in Atlanta, said Diamond’s wellbeing was more important than medals.
Mark told the newspaper he had previously informed Shooting Australia, the sport’s national governing body, of his concerns about Diamond’s behaviour but said officials had failed to take any action.
After Diamond’s arrest following a domestic dispute in Nelson Bay on Saturday, a shotgun with 150 rounds of ammunition was found in his car and a breath analysis showed he was three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit.
His driver’s and firearms licenses have been suspended and he has been granted bail to appear at court on June 7.
Australia’s Olympic team chef de mission Kitty Chiller said on Monday that Diamond’s nomination for Rio was up to Shooting Australia, but added that the AOC could still overrule it.
Jarryd Hayne’s bid to play rugby sevens at the Rio Olympics is now literally an uphill battle, with gutbusting runs up towering sand-dunes on the agenda during a six-week boot-camp with the world champion Fiji team.
Used sparingly during the World Sevens tour’s London finale at the weekend, the former NFL running back has no further opportunities to impress Fiji coach Ben Ryan with on-field performances.
That leaves Hayne’s audacious bid precariously pinned on his work at training, which by itself may prove an insurmountable slog given Fiji’s stable of established stars.
Last year, Hayne defied the odds and an army of sceptics to make the 53man roster of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, less than a year after quitting Australia’s top-flight rugby league competition.
But Hayne allowed himself just a few months to get up to speed with sevens in time for August’s Olympics, setting himself a task that is physiologically far-fetched, according to experts.
Japan’s Hiroshi Hoketsu will miss out on a chance to become the oldest ever Olympian at Rio due to his horse’s ill health but the 75-yearold remains hopeful of establishing the record at Tokyo 2020, some 56 years after his first Games.
Hoketsu, who made his Olympic debut in show jumping at the 1964 Tokyo Games before turning to dressage and riding in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Games, said a spot in Tokyo would see his career come full circle.
Hoketsu’s 2012 appearance made him the third oldest Olympian, with Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn currently the oldest when he competed at the 1920 Antwerp Games aged 72.
NBC Universal networks Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC and USA will combine to televise 325ó hours of programing from the Rio Olympics this summer.
NBC said Tuesday that Bravo will air the Olympic tennis competition for the third time. The network will show 94-1/2 hours of coverage from Aug 6-14, with more than 12 hours of competition broadcast each of the first five days.
USA Network returns to the Olympic fold with 110-1/2 hours of coverage after not airing any events in 2012. This is the sixth time it has telecast Olympic competition. It will broadcast women’s soccer two days before the opening ceremony, then will show coverage from 9 am-5 pm EDT on weekdays along with weekend programing. Other sports include men’s basketball, beach volleyball, cycling, rowing, synchronized swimming, volleyball and water polo.