World No. 1 Jason Day and Irish golfer Shane Lowry "have withdrawn from the Olympics because of concerns over the Zika virus." Australian 28-year-old Day said while the risk is small, it is not one he is willing to take because of "potential risks to my wife's future pregnancies." Day "is the sixth high-profile player to pull out because of concerns over Zika," following fellow Australian Marc Leishman, Fiji's Vijay Singh, South Africa's Branden Grace and Northern Ireland pair Rory McIlory and Graeme McDowell (BBC, 6/28).
A number of New Zealand athletes "are understood to be on standby for the 2016 Rio Olympics due to potential positive drug tests from international athletes." New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO Kereyn Smith said that "drug testing in the build-up to the Olympic Games is a high priority for the international sporting movement." He said, "Positive drug tests from international athletes that may affect New Zealand Olympic qualification cannot be ruled out" (STUFF 6/28).
Organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said Tuesday that they held a teleconference with counterparts in Tokyo and Beijing "over their Olympic cooperation." The PyeongChang committee said that PyeongChang 2018 President Lee Hee-beom "proposed the teleconference" between the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics committees. The PyeongChang Winter Games, the first of its kind in South Korea, "will kick off an unprecedented cycle of three consecutive Olympics in Northeast Asia." Lee "has often touched upon the significance of the occasion" (YONHAP, 6/28).
