The British Olympian Greg Rutherford has frozen a sample of his sperm before attending the Olympic Games in Rio because of his concerns over the Zika virus.
Rutherford’s partner, Susie Verrill, said the couple, who have a son called Milo, decided to freeze his sperm because they wanted to have more children in the future and were worried about the risks of the disease. Zika infections in pregnant women have been linked to babies being born with microcephaly, or an unusually small skull, and other severe brain defects.
Verrill revealed in an article for Standard Issue that she and Milo would not travel to Brazil to watch Rutherford, who won gold in the long jump at the London 2012 Games.
“The Zika news has caused no end of concern if we’re totally honest,” she wrote. “We’re not ones to worry unnecessarily but after more than 100 medical experts stressed the Games should be moved to prevent the disease from spreading, this was a huge factor in us choosing to stay put.
“We’ve also made the decision to have Greg’s sperm frozen. We’d love to have more children and with research in its infancy, I wouldn’t want to put myself in a situation which could have been prevented.
“Specialists still also don’t know the ins and outs of Zika, so even though it looks as though there’s no real issue should Milo get bitten, it’s just another thing we don’t want to chance.”
Verrill said other reasons for remaining at home included the cost of flights and the lack of time she would spend with Rutherford because he would be “holed up in the athletes’ village from day one until he leaves and two weeks prior to actually competing in Rio he’ll be staying in a holding camp”.
Verrill’s article came days after the US cyclist Tejay Van Garderen pulled out of the Games over fears for his pregnant wife. The Fijian Vijay Singh and Australian Marc Leishman have also withdrawn from the golf event.
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