Farah to focus on racing not ‘Zika’ virus

Worried Gasol wants more Zika details ahead of Rio

EUGENE, United States, May 30, 2016 (Agencies): Reigning 10,000 metre world champion Mo Farah says predictions of traffic chaos didn’t ground the London Olympics to a halt and the Zika virus shouldn’t stop the Rio Games from being a success.

The 33-year-old Farah, who is considered the most dominant long distance runner in the world, said he is trying to focus on getting ready for the Olympics and not worry about health problems that might arise.

“Before the London Olympics there was a lot of things said like ‘they weren’t ready and the traffic was going to be bad’ and there was none of that. It was the best Olympics ever,” said Great Britain’s Farah who plans to take his family members with him to Brazil.

“All I know is my family and I are all going,” he said after winning his fifth career 10,000 metre race at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon at the weekend.

An open letter by 150 doctors and scientists Friday called on officials to shift the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro because of the Zika virus.

The letter to the World Health Organzation, signed by doctors and researchers at leading universities around the world, expressed worry that officials are not adequately protecting the public against the danger posed by Zika. WHO has since rejected the idea of moving or postponing the Games.

“I don’t think they will do that,” Farah said of moving the Games. “As an athlete I don’t want to think about anything other than I am going to be racing. My first race is the 18th of August. I need to concentrate and that is it.

“At the end of the day, things will take care of itself.”

Gasol

Chicago Bulls and Spain basketball centre Pau Gasol wants clarity on the Zika outbreak in Brazil before deciding whether to compete at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.

Gasol, who has represented his country at the last three Games, says there is not enough information about the outbreak of the virus that is linked to serious birth defects.

“I feel a

responsibility

to

raise awareness and inform about something that we are not talking enough about and which is a big unknown,” the 35-year-old told a news conference on Monday.

“The Olympics can be an opportunity for this virus to spread. I want the health of sportsmen, fans and their families that will travel to Rio to come first.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if certain athletes decided not to take part in order not to put at risk their health and that of their families.”

Asked if he was among them, Gasol said: “I am evaluating it like any other athlete or person that is considering going to Rio.

“Some of my team mates are looking to start a family in the near future and they cannot risk the health of their future children or wives.”

The World Health Organization’s Zika response programme is only 13 percent funded, “severely” compromising efforts to combat the virus that is increasingly becoming a global threat, the UN agency said Monday.

But the significant funding gaps in the $17.7-million (15.9-million-euro) plan are not having a major impact on Brazil’s efforts to keep the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro safe, WHO spokeswoman Nyka Alexander told AFP.

The UN agency last week rejected a call from 150 international doctors to change the timing or location of the Rio Games, with Brazil the country hardest hit by the Zika outbreak.

WHO said that shifting the Games would not substantially alter the risks of Zika spreading globally, but has urged athletes and visitors heading to Rio to take extra precaution against the mosquito-borne virus.

The organisation has advised women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant to stay away altogether.

The virus can cause birth defects including microcephaly in which babies are born with unusually small heads and brains, as well as a potentially fatal neurological disorder called Guillian-Barre Syndrome.

WHO has provided technical advice to Brazil’s health ministry during the Zika crisis, in areas ranging from patient care to mosquito control strategies, Alexander said in an email.

Great Britain’s Mo Farah heads into the final lap ahead of Kenya’s William Malel Sitonik in the men’s 10,000 meters on the first day of the Prefontaine Classic

track and field meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., May 27. (AP)