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28th Jun 2016

Shane Lowry withdraws from the Olympics, as Katie Taylor weighs in

Alan Loughnane

Shane Lowry has followed Jason Day and Rory McIlroy in withdrawing from this summer’s Olympic Games over concerns about the Zika virus.

The Offaly golfer tweeted the news on Tuesday afternoon.

The chatter around the entry of golf into the Olympics has only risen in recent weeks following such high profile withdrawals.

McIlroy, Vijay Singh, Marc Leishman and earlier today, World No. 1 Day withdrew from the Olympics in Rio over fears of the Zika virus.

Katie Taylor took to Twitter earlier today to give her two cents on those golfers’ decision not to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Taylor isn’t the only boxer to comment on the decisions of these golfers with Darren O’Neill heavily critical of McIlroy’s decision to withdraw.

“I have cried tears & spilled blood in trying to qualify for Rio [sic]. This affirms my opinions. We are better w/o him,” O’Neill wrote on Twitter.

Jordan Spieth, ranked No. 2 in the world, is still expected to take part in the Games.

The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus which has been linked to severe birth defects. Hundreds of thousands of people are infected with the disease in Brazil.

It’s caused thousands of cases of microcephaly in Brazil, which is a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development.