RIO 2016 | MIREIA BELMONTE
"If my health is put at risk by Zika, I'm not going to Brazil"
Spanish Olympic silver medalist Mireia Belmonte is waiting for the situation in Rio to become more clear before making a decision on whether or not to compete at this summer's Game.
"If my health is put at risk, I'll strongly consider not going to the Rio Games", declared Mireia Belmonte when asked to comment on the zika virus during a publicity event this morning. The two-time Olympic silver medalist added: "There is still a long way to go until the summer and things could change, but it's important that we know we're going to be safe and that our health won't be put at risk. We need to inform ourselves about the dangers we might encounter over there".
The Spaniard's concerns follow the US Olympic Committee's announcement yesterday in which the heads of national sports federations were advised to prevent their athletes from travelling to Brazil in the wake of the World Health Organisation's warnings about the spread of the mosquito-borne virus across Latin America.