Re: Mosquitoes
I think the chances of a female athlete being pregnant while competing at the Olympics is not zero, but it should be close to it. I can’t think a single summer Olympic sport in which being pregnant will not decrease the athletes’ performance. Archery during early pregnancy maybe, but that’s about it. Thus, it’s very likely that all sexually-active female athletes of child bearing age very likely will be, or certainly should be, on effective contraception - for the sake of her performance in the games if nothing else.
Considering all the years of dedication and endless training they have invested for their big performance on the Olympic stage, it would be astonishing if one of the women were careless enough to show up pregnant
The real risk of birth defects due to Zika infection contracted during the games will likely occur among the spectators, not the athletes.
You don’t need to be pregnant at the time of the bite to run the risk of birth defects. A man could get infected, potentially incubate the disease or be ill for some months, transmit the disease sexually, etc. The at-risk pregnancy could happen much later.
I agree that spectators are at much greater risk as a group.
I was excited to watch a young lady I knew as a young sister of S’s friend swim last night … now at USC, she’s swimming in her 2nd Olympic trials. While she placed 4th or 5th in the semi’s, she improved her placement over last time … gotta love it! We have another young woman from our town running the 1500 meter … her mom & dad participated in the Olympic trials years ago, and they are thrilled that their D is running … and that she has a better shot at making it than they did. It’s so cool!
Kerri Walsh Jennings won a gold medal in beach volleyball at the 2012 London games while in her first trimester. She kept the pregnancy a secret until after the Olympics.
@scipio and @my-3-sons My-3-sons beat me to it. What a nightmare it would be to be playing beach volleyball with the risk of mosquito bites! It is played outdoors and the contestants wear bikinis.
One of the men who has withdrawn—a cyclist, I think?—has a pregnant wife.
I watched a young man who was on my daughter’s college team swim in finals of Trials tonight. It was wonderful and a bit unexpected that he finaled…It was likely the last swim of his career. He’s a terrific guy who worked very hard. He should be very proud of himself.
we’ve been attending the swim trials - it’s so great! the crowd can be deafening when big names are swimming or World/American Records are being close to being broken. The athletes looks so happy and incredulous when they find out they have won a spot; and it’s so patriotic. I’m hoping the new swimmers making the olympics can keep developing over the years and will keep making the teams.
There are swimmers who miss the Olympics by 5 one hundredths of a second. That is the difference between being an Olympian or not.
I’m not saying anything that y’all don’t already know. I’m sure there are other races that have been closer. I’m sure that other sports gave the same tight competition.
These facts just amaze me from a human psychology standpoint. As you go forward in your life, are you regretful or self-blaming, or are you proud to have been so close ?
At any rate, I am proud of all of you on this thread for celebrating the efforts of all.
DH is in Eugene today and tomorrow to watch a bit of the track and field trials. We attended one day of the trials last Olympics while vacationing in Oregon. They have a big Expo with lots of fun activities (and the latest shoes from the big sponsor companies, which DH likes).
A kid from our small high school (less than 200 students) that is not any kind of sports powerhouse (far from it) is competing in Eugene this week and has a great chance of making the team this year for Rio. He is easily the best athlete to ever graduate from the school. Can’t wait to watch!
A few weeks ago, I saw the Olympic Trials for rhythmic gymnastics (individual and group) along with trampoline and tumbling. The competition (held in Providence) was lots of fun to watch. For the first time ever, the US actually stands a chance of medalling in rhythmic gymnastics. The current champion Laura Zeng is only 17 and incredibly talented. She earned many medals at the World Cup and has done really well internationally. She finished 8th overall in World Championships, which is highest spot any American has earned in World Championships. Rhythmics is one of the last Olympic events–Aug 20-21.
I certainly remember Kerri Walsh Jennings winning while pregnant. I’m sure everybody who even vaguely watched the games that year heard about it. Which is why it’s the exception that proves the rule. Women competing at the Olympics while pregnant is very rare, and winning while pregnant is even rarer. We all remember it because it was so unusual…
So overall, I’m still not worried about the athletes giving birth to microcephalic babies due to Zika. I doubt very seriously whether there will be even a single instance of that arising from these games. Everybody talks about the risks to the athletes, but the far bigger risk will be Zika-caused birth defects among the spectators, and of course the ongoing Zika problems among the Brazilians themselves. They live with it every day and will continue to do so long after the games are over and all the athletes have gone home.
I disagree that the athletes are less likely to be pregnant or wanting to have a baby in the period after the olympics. Most of the athletes are of prime child bearing age.
There was a D1 lacrosse player this year who had a “I didn’t know I was Pregnant” baby, at the end of the season, so not only was she pregnant during the season, she was pretty far along. Happens.
Missypie, one has to be a superhuman to race anything after 200 free. She had 14 minutes or so apparently after qualifying for finals in the 200 and her 100 back final.
Who the bleep scheduled those events?! This is not an age-group meet we are talking about! >>>>>>>
The order of events is always the same. Right? No matter where you are, what level you are.
