Rio 2016: The Games Begin Today
The Olympics are in full swing with the Women’s football teams playing today. The Opening Ceremony will not take place until Friday, but as I write Sweden is playing South Africa; as of right now Sweden is winning (update: Sweden won). The home country Brazil will be playing China in a few hours and the reigning Women’s World Cup USA team will be facing New Zealand. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the Olympics before they started, but as it currently taking place it seems like things came together nicely.
One thing that caught my attention before the start of the Olympics was the worry many people had due to the Zika virus outbreak. I have heard of many athletes pulling out of the Olympics because they had concerns over getting the virus. I did some research on the virus because all I had heard was what the media said. It turns out a lot of the female athletes had a valid concern over not risking getting infected because even if you are not pregnant now the virus can still activate once you become pregnant. The virus can cause the baby to have a lot of complications. The USA goalie, Hope Solo was very outspoken on the issue and said she would “never take the risk of having an unhealthy child” (source). Before knowing this info I was kind of judgmental on those who pulled out or wanted to pull out of the games, but I agree with Solo. However she was not only one concerned, and I know I would never want to intentionally complicate having children in the future. There is no vaccine or a real treatment for the Zika virus, and some of its effects are eye sight loss and paralysis.
Even though Rio is one place where the outbreak has been most potent, the virus has now reached the USA. So, I think it is not something we cannot run away from. Those athletes who are playing in the Olympics will have to take precautions and be very careful to not expose themselves to the virus as best as they can. It will be no different than anyone who lives in an area where the virus has spread to. Actually those athletes will probably have access to the best prevention methods. The US team has an entire group monitoring the Zika virus. The US team will be given long sleeve shirts and pants, and tests will be done to make sure that anyone who has the virus is identified as quickly as possible. A lot of people do not show symptoms.
There is a lot of concern for the people travelling to Rio for the Games as well, and fears of making the virus more wide spread. I have always enjoyed watching the Olympics. Even with all the concerns I hope these Olympics bring the world together and give us some good news amidst the horrible news the world has recently given us. There are many sports I am looking forward to, such as football, tennis, volleyball, and gymnastics. I am also excited to see the Opening Ceremony. Brazil is a wonderful country and I only want to see it thrive.
