Citing concerns about the Zika virus, South African Lee-Anne Pace became the first women’s golfer to elect not to participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics — joining a growing number of men’s players that include the world’s top-ranked golfer, according to a Reuters report.
Related: Want a Baby? If You’re in a Zika Area, Wait
Pace, 35, is ranked 38th in the world and is a nine-times winner on the Ladies European Tour. While eager to represent her country at the Olympics this summer — to be held August 5 through August 21 — she said the health concerns forced her hand.
“After weighing up all the options and discussing it with my family and team, I have decided that due to the health concerns surrounding the Zika virus, I will not be participating,” Pace said in a statement.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association is backing its players’ individual decisions. “The decision that any player makes is a personal one, and the LPGA will respect and support our member’s decisions as it relates to participating in Rio 2016,” it said in a statement.
Golf returns to the Olympics for the first time since 1904, as Reuters and other outlets noted — but several high-profile athletes in this sport have already withdrawn.
The men’s world number-one player, Australia’s Jason Day, plus Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Fiji’s Vijay Singh, Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, and Ireland’s Shane Lowry have all withdrawn from the Games.
In a statement on his Twitter page, Day wrote: “Competing at the Olympics has always been a major goal, but golf cannot take precedence over my family.”
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U.S. health officials say Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.
To read more about Zika and the latest developments surrounding it, click here.
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