German Robert Harting will get a chance to defend his Olympic discus gold medal as he secured qualification for Rio 2016 by winning his ninth national title yesterday.
Harting, however, will head to Brazil with mixed feelings, admitting after qualifying that he is concerned about the Zika virus.
“We have already asked ourselves a lot of questions,” Harting said. “You cannot forget that it remains in your body. That is the problem. You carry it with you, you travel back to Europe. It is a very difficult situation.”
The three-time discus world champion threw 68.04m at the German championships in Kassel, finishing ahead of his younger brother Christoph Harting, who registered a throw of 66.41m.
The 31-year-old Robert Harting did say he will compete at his third Olympics.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday decided at a committee meeting in Geneva that there was no reason to move or postpone the Olympics.