Rio16: Rugby, golf, return to Olympics as novelties

By Senabri Silvestre

SANTO DOMINGO, Dom. Rep. (AA) – More than 10,000 athletes will compete in 28 sports at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but two competitions will be novelties for the event: golf and rugby sevens.

Both disciplines return to the Olympic stage after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to raise the number of sports from 26 to 28, filling empty slots left by baseball and softball after the Beijing games in 2008.

Ruby sevens -- a faster and shorter adaptation of the old 15-player version that appeared 92 years ago at the Paris Olympics in 1924.

Twenty-four teams will have the opportunity to prove themselves in competition scheduled from Aug. 6-8 for females and Aug. 10-11 for males, at the Deodoro Stadium.

Some of the best rugby players in the world will be in the spotlight, such as two-time World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams of New Zealand.

Williams became a household name after he gave his World Cup medal to a young fan who ran onto the pitch following the conclusion of last year's final.

Others top athletes include American Carlin Isles, known as the fastest rugby player, and Injera Collins, a Kenyan who set the mark for all-time tries with 235 at the 2015-16 Sevens World Series.

Among women featured will be former sprinter Ellia Green from Australia and New Zealand’s Portia Woodman, the 2015 Women's Sevens Player of the Year.

It took rugby just 92 years to make its return to the Olympic stage but golf had had a longer journey. After a 112-year absence, it will be featured in the world’s largest global sporting competition.

It was last seen at the games in St. Louis in 1904 but the decision by several top-ranked players to sit out Rio could spell trouble for the sport if it wants to make future showings at the Olympics.

The world's top four players -- Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth -- are not on the list of 120 golfers who will battle for medals on the 72-hole links.

All have withdrawn citing the threat of Zika, a virus linked to the microcephaly birth defect and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disease that can cause temporary paralysis and sometimes death.

Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Vijay Singh will also forgo Río, leaving just nine of the top 30 golfers in competition.

Adding to the troubles is McIlroy, the first to withdraw, who said he probably would not even watch the event, preferring "track and field, swimming, diving -- the stuff that matters".

The women's competition will feature number-one ranked Lydia Ko, the youngest player ever to win a major. The 19-year-old Korean-born New Zealander said she is too excited about competing at the Olympics to worry about Zika. Most of the other female golfers share her sentiment.

Another big name set to compete is Canadian Brooke Henderson, the second-ranked women’s golfer who won the 2016 PGA Championship.

Players will participate from Aug. 11- 20 at the golf club at the Marapendi Brazilian Reserve.

Though not a sport, Río will also include for the first time a group of refugee athletes who will not only be held up as a symbol of hope for refugees worldwide but also bring global attention to the crisis.

Ten athletes from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Congo will compete for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) and march with the Olympic flag immediately before host nation Brazil during the Ope