WHILE THE ZIKA virus made worldwide headlines when it first came to prominence last year, it had disappeared from both the front and back pages until a Canadian professor called for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil to be postponed earlier this week.
That was swiftly followed by Rory McIlroy suggesting he might skip Rio as he and his fiancee Erica Stoll could want to have children in the future and the Irish Open winner wouldn’t want to do anything to affect that.
So it’s little surprise that the virus has been in the back of Irish Olympian Fiona Doyle’s mind since she qualified for this August’s showpiece.
However, while some of the 24-year-old’s family will be staying at home as a precaution, Doyle herself is fully committed to going.
“Obviously it is a concern for anyone going but especially women because a lot of us are at child-bearing age and either in our late teens or early 20s. I have three sisters and two brothers, and my sisters are not going to go because they’re at that age and they’re very upset about it.
“My older sister Sinead just got married and Rio was supposed to be her honeymoon so she’s obviously gutted.
“I’m probably not going to go to the next Olympics so it was their one opportunity to come and support me but unfortunately, it’s too much of a risk for them.
There is a concern for me but I’ve been training for 12 years to try and make the Olympics.
“So it’s not as easy for me as it is for Rory McIlroy to say he’s going to skip this one and come back in four years’ time. It doesn’t work that way in swimming. I’m right at my peak at the moment in terms of the right age and this is my last chance.”
While Doyle won’t receive any advice from Swim Ireland or the Olympic Council of Ireland until she is officially selected in June when the qualification period is over, the kinesiology student has done her own research and spoken to those more qualified than her on the subject.
“Although it is kind of nerve-wracking that there’s a chance I could catch it, this is my only opportunity and I will do everything I can do in order to prevent getting it — and there have been recommendations of how to avoid it.
“I know women who have gone over there and they have been fine — but, with everything you do there are risks and, like I said, this is my only shot and I’m not going to pull out of it because there’s a chance that something bad might happen.
“If it happens, I’ll deal with it then. The medical team for the Olympics are always very good and send out a lot of advisories and are very cautious — they don’t want their athletes getting sick or catching anything — so it’ll be a matter of making sure I follow up the guidelines they are recommending.”
Born in Limerick, Doyle moved to the University of Calgary on a scholarship after her Leaving Certificate and, while she is thankful for the support of Swim Ireland in recent years, she believes that travelling to Canada was the only way to study and train full time.
“When you do a degree over there, it’s much more generalised than it is here. If you want to do engineering, you don’t just do engineering but a more general degree and then you specialise later.
“Ireland isn’t really geared towards athletes and education like that.
“If you want to be a top level athlete in Ireland, you have to choose your sport or your education unless you are naturally very smart and you can do both and you don’t need as much work as everyone else.
“In Canada, it’s much more accommodating and, I suppose, a lot of students would say it’s too focused on athletics, but the professors are very accommodating if you need extra time for assignments or need to defer an exam.
“You get to plan your own semester and, in order to be eligible for the Canadian collegiate championships, you have to take either three classes a semester or six in a year.
“You can then choose to work those classes around when your sport is. I ended up taking only 15 classes my first four years because I was trying to make 2012 so it meant I could reduce the workload and focus more on my swimming.
“Last January to May, I was able to reduce the amount of classes I was taking to help me as I was trying to qualify for Rio.
“In Ireland, it’s a lot more difficult to get exemptions, it’s a lot more difficult to defer work. Chris Bryan (the Irish open water swimmer) was able to split a year in half but I think you’re only allowed do that once here.
“The Leaving Cert is difficult and, even if you have all the time in the world to study it’s still hard, but it’s a lot easier to get the points you need for the course you want if you don’t have a sport. When I was doing it, my schedule was so tough that I maybe only had an hour to study (and eat) before going to bed.
“Over there, second-level education is continuous assessment so it’s a lot easier to achieve the 90% you need to get into engineering that way than to sit one exam and try achieve that score.”
One challenge for Doyle ahead of Rio is that she may not have her long-term coach by her side at the games as the accreditation rules could prevent it. Another is the weight of expectation from fans and media, something that Doyle knows should not play on her mind but inevitably does.
I know myself that I push myself a lot. I’m not okay with just being okay and I want to push myself to do better every time I train, every time I race.
“When we go to meets, we’re very aware that there is media and fans and it’s not just us who are there and there are other people watching.
“Those other people don’t necessarily know what’s going on in your life or how training has been going and, I guess, in one sense it’s important for us to make people aware of how it is we’re doing via social media, etc, but it’s also difficult too as there’s pressure on every time we race.
“People are very quick to judge. It’s one thing I fear going to Rio. I’m a people pleaser and I want to please the Irish fans. When people are watching the Olympics though they need to realise that I didn’t just decide one morning that I was going to go to the Olympics.
“This is not something I just decided four years ago. I’ve wanted to go to the Olympics since I was 12. It’s so difficult to make it.
“Every four years there are only 10,000 people who get to go to the Olympics and, of that, 10,000 only 900 are swimmers. Break that down 50:50 and there are only 450 women in the world who get to go every four years and I’m one of them. People forget that so easily.
“If I go to the Olympics and I don’t perform I’m going to be really upset because I spent so long trying to get there and worked really hard at it but I’m also aware that I’m going to let other people down so that’s nerve-wracking.
And, after missing out twice before, what does it mean to finally make it to the Games?
“I don’t think I can put it into words what going to the Olympics means to me. When I didn’t qualify back in 2012 I was devastated, it was like somebody had died, and I didn’t even watch the Games when it rolled round because I’d trained my whole life for it and I missed out by less than half a second.
“To be able to come back, it’s actually surreal to think I’ll be going to Rio. It kind of feels like a dream.”
Fiona Doyle was speaking as part of Electric Ireland’s #ThePowerWithin campaign which sees athletes share their inspiring stories ahead of this year’s Olympic Games.
– First published 06.00
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When you can pretty much predict the 1/4 final pairings after one round of games it doesn’t really say much about the competition.
@Shimmy Shammy: think you’d have a pretty good go at doing the same at soccer World Cup to be fair! Look at England’s draw at soccer World Cup …utterly predictable
@BMJF: Not really true though. Far more competition in soccer. The group stages in the rugby world cup don’t particularly serve any purpose.
@Shimmy Shammy: The whole purpose of the group stages is the opportunity for these sides to play Tier 1 nations – the problem it isn’t happening enough between world cups, the answer is definitely not reduce the number of teams in the World Cup. There will be a upset or two before we are done, hopefully at Englands expense
Life is just simply better when the world cup is on !
@JillyBean: it desperately need a shock result. Naming the quarter finalists and quite possibly the semi finalists by this weekend isn’t great…..
Am I not right in saying that only 8/9 teams have won the Football World Cup and therefore it’s equally as predictable given its lengthy history?
Crazy to believe people still belittle the quality of the the teams in the RWC.
Germany beat Brazil 7-1 in a semi final not too long ago, so does that equate to to a 49-7 win in rugby?
@Geoff Speiran: You are clutching at straws there Geoff. Only 4 countries have won the Rugby World Cup and correct me if Im wrong, but only 9 teams have ever made the actual quarter finals. Thats a sensational statistic. In soccer you have had the likes of Senegal, Turkey, Ghana, Ireland, South Korea, Croatia, Bulgaria, Sweden etc. making the latter stages, would never happen in rugby
@Frank Scanlon: You have a point but it’s worth acknowledging that there has been 21 Soccer world cups. This is the 9th Rugby one. Hopefully, teams like Fiji, Japan, USA will start making these breakthroughs with greater regularity. Japan could beat Scotland which would be great for the development of the game.
@Frank Scanlon: But the game is only growing and from a much smaller playing pool, you don’t critique Cricket/Rugby League/Basketball in the same way, why is the football world cup the pinnacle of international sports? When you consider there’s 50 years between the beginning of the football World Cup and RWC it’s hard to draw direct comparisons and who knows whether the 2067 RWC will be exponential more competitive.
@Frank Scanlon: yes but soccer is the no.1 sport in pretty much all these countries. It’s also a bit easier to scrape out of a group stage in soccer, ala Ireland, by parking the bus for a draw or sneaking an odd goal from a setpiece. It’s nigh on impossible for the smaller, less well coached teams to fluke a draw in rugby, you have the width of the pitch to defend, not a smallish rectangle with a net.
@Cian Nolan: Thats neither here nor there as in the first 8 FIFA World Cups 25 different nations had finished in the top 8 of the tournament. I’m sorry but some people are just delusional about the international appeal of rugby. For example I was in Argentina during the last World Cup when they were in the semi final and you would hardly know the game was on, people didnt care, and they are one of the top 8 or 9 nations. Rugby is irrelevant in Italy and even in Australia its way behind Rugby League and AFL
@Geoff Speiran: I absolutely would critique those sports in the same way, Rugby League World Cup in particular is a joke. RWC will not be more competitive in 2067, maybe less so, as any developing nations will more than likely put more resources into sevens as its the Olympic format
@Cian Nolan: the thing is it’s rigged against African teams in football but rigged against Tier 2 teams in rugby .. Japans win against SA in 2015 , Fiji v Wales in 2007 and Samoa VS Wales in 91 are the only true surprise results . If it wasn’t for bonus points the Argentinians could wave goodbye already .
@Tim Magner: Fair point in one sense but the gulf between the top 8/9 in rugby and the next tier is absolutely huge, in general you still have to be somewhere close to the same level in any sport to get a result. Soccer’s lower scoring nature obviously lends to more surprise results, rugby is similar to hurling in the sense that skill differences are amplified on the scoreboard and again its 8/9 teans competing. But to me looking in it seems that rugby is making zero effort to get any other nations to the top table, and on top of that refereeing decisions always seem to favour the top sides just to make sure the natural order is not disrupted
@Frank Scanlon: what exactly does FIFA do for the smaller nations in soccer? All the poorer tier 2 nations in rugby get coaches payed for by the wru. Rugby is a far more physical & attritional sport than soccer, and a lot more technical with things like scrums, lineouts, rucks etc. Of course there’s only 8/9 teams really compete at top end, and they’re the ones with the player base, the squads that can cope with injuries. A soccer team can go a long way in any tournament with 10 solid journeymen & a star who can get the goals, see Portugal. Rugby a bit different
@Frank Scanlon: But given that 15 a side game is more lucrative surely the growth of 7’s will just allow more players a pathway into the 15’s game for other nations and therefore diversity the sport.
I agree there are massive challenges but how many World Cup sports do you tune in to? Granted Rugby is behind others but I implore you to find me a more competitive example in the men’s category.
@Frank Scanlon: 4 teams in 8 world cups as opposed to 9 teams in 21 football world cups…it’s actually 12 teams that have made quarters, Canada once, Western Samoa and Fiji have both made it twice each. Japan are on the cusp and the USA should feature in the future too. And I’d agree with another comment, you can be a terrible team in football and park the bus, but that’s almost impossible to do in rugby where the fatigue is far greater. I love both world cups, I just don’t get this bashing, there are terrible teams like Costa Rica and Iran in the football World Cup, it’s very predictable how their matches will go too!
@Padraig O’M: Iran were actually quite good in the last world cup and should have bet Portugal to go through. Poor example.
@Padraig O’M: Yeah poor example regards Iran and Costa Rica did quite well in previous World Cup. My mistake I didnt realise Canada, Samoa and Fiji had made the quarters but in a sense it only proves that rugby has actually regressed in terms of the number of teams capable of being competitive. Its hard to argue that the current tournament is not extremely predictable. Barring an unlikely upset win for Argentina or France over England, the only thing we are really left wondering is whether Australia or Wales will top their pool.
Sensational….yawn. Extremely predictable. Massively understrength competition and one sided matches that will still be pontificated on by the rugby media.
@Tom Bout: yawn is right! a few days in and the 9 potential quarter finalists have been filtered down to 8 and almost a month of meaningless matches to come.
Nothing so wrong with only having 9 competitive teams. In a high scoring sport it would be hard to get more than that but lobbing 20 of them in to a round robin competition is crazy. Imagine if hurling threw 20 teams in to the All Ireland series. No body would pay to see Kilkenny vs Meath in hurling, it would be a massacre. Serious marketing by World Rugby to sell this tournament and these kind of one-sided games!
@Kevin McMahon: so teams should never play against superior opposition? Seems like a great way to stifle the growth of smaller nations teams
It was mixed feelings seeing the Georgia coach celebrate their 2nd try in a near 30 point defeat so enthusiastically today. Entirely understandable considering the structural and experience disadvantages they have compared to tier 1 teams but really disappointing for the competition when the mid-level teams show no real belief in their ability to compete and are effectively happy if they manage to avoid humiliation.
Rugby won’t continue to grow with the same 10 teams playing each other endlessly, it needs new teams to emerge and they need the same player access and competitive fixtures as the tier 1 nations.
I really hope Japan or Fiji can cause an upset and make things interesting!
@Rochelle: the real thing that’s holding Georgia back is the lack of relegation and promotion in the six nations. They consistently dominate the second tier and rarely get the opportunity to play the tier 1 teams.
@Rochelle: Georgia and Fiji can play at tier 1 level if given the opportunity for test rugby on a regular basis. What about a 7 Nations? or adding Fiji to make southern hemi a 5mations?
@Dave O Keeffe: why can’t we have a 7 Nations? Who said it has to be six?? It used to be 5. Relegation would only destroy the team dropping down..left with no one to compete against & it they’d destroy EUROPEAN tier 2 or 3 teams which is pointless
@BMJF: well if Italy for example got relegated they’d have a year to regroup and rebuild, get a few wins and possibly come back up. Georgia would get a year playing against tier 1 teams and at the very least see the level they aspire to. Tier 2 teams would also benefit massively from playing against a relegated tier 1 team, testing themselves against that level, seeing the difference in quality or lack thereof. It let’s everyone see where they’re at. Right now the 5th ranked tier 2 European team are ahead against Samoa in the second half.
@BMJF: my issue with making it a 7 nations means that it’s always the same protected 7. There’s no growth for the 8th ranked team.
Sensational amount of RWC articles!!!
Rugby is over rated
What a predictable boring article , yawn yawn
@Frank Tennant: whereas your comment, Frank – what an absolute fücking zinger. Wow. What I’d give to be able to write like that.
I’m not sure when they hand out Pulitzers but you should keep that night free I’d say.
Glad to see you are enjoying Japan Sean