Serena concerned over Zika, but puts faith in Olympic support team

Tennis star Serena Williams says she is concerned about the Zika outbreak ahead of August’s Rio Olympics, but has faith in the support team dealing with worries about the mosquito-carried virus.A number of major names, including golfer Rory McIlroy, have pulled out of the Games because of health fears over Zika. The World Health Organisation last week said there is a “very low risk” of further spread of the virus as result of the sporting event held in Brazil.“Obviously it does (worry me). The US (team) has talked to all the athletes, they have been going through a lot of protocol to make sure everyone is okay and comfortable and if not there is no pressure to go,” Williams, who will be competing for the United States at the Games, told Reuters in London.“We are all looking forward to it and we are all worried about it but the athletes that are going are definitely taking the right precautions.”Williams was speaking at a party ahead of Wimbledon, where she swapped her racket for a microphone to sing some karaoke. Williams will be looking to claim her seventh title at Wimbledon, which she said was her favourite tournament. “I like the tradition. I really do. I like that it is so traditional,” she said. The 21-times Grand Slam singles champion is seeded number one for Wimbledon, which starts on Monday.Indonesian medallists to get cash for lifeIndonesia promised yesterday large cash payments and generous lifetime pensions to their Olympic athletes if they make the podium, in a bid to boost their medal count in Rio.The sports and youth ministry said athletes who win gold at the Rio Games in August will be granted a one-off payment of 5 billion Indonesian rupiah (USD$377,500) and a lifetime pension of around $1,500 a month.Athletes who win silver and bronze will also be rewarded, albeit with lesser payments of around $150,000 and $75,000 respectively, plus a smaller pension. The cash prize for gold is five times the amount promised to athletes in past Olympic meets, while pensions have been added for the first time to sweeten the deal.Minimum wages in the capital Jakarta are around $235 per month, but in remote provinces many still live on less than $2 per day. At the London Olympics in 2012, Indonesia, a country of 255 million, failed to clinch a single gold medal for the first time in more than two decades.The ministry hopes the cash incentives will spur a better result at the upcoming Games, where Indonesia is still a minnow compared to regional heavyweights like China. “This is to motivate athletes to dream big. Don’t do it half-heartedly, aim for the Olympics,” ministry spokesman Gatot Dewa Broto told AFP.Past athletes also won’t miss out, with the government promising to backpay the pension to medallists in past Olympic and Paralympic meets. Indonesia first participated in the Olympics in 1952, but was forced to wait until South Korea in 1988 before it won any medals.Since then it has won 27 individual and team medals in badminton, weightlifting and archery. President Joko Widodo this week encouraged his nation’s athletes to strive for a podium finish, saying he hoped to hear the Indonesian national anthem thundering around Rio Di Janeiro when the Games got underway on August 5.Kenyan president signs anti-doping measures into lawKenya’s president signed an anti-doping amendment bill into law, after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said Kenyan legislation passed in April needed further changes if the country was to be declared compliant with WADA codes.Kenya, renowned for its distance runners, has faced frequent allegations of doping with about 40 cases reported in the past four years. The International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday that competitors from Russia and Kenya, given their countries’ recent history of doping, would have to be screened individually before being allowed to participate in the Rio Games.“We look forward to WADA’s review and declaration of Kenya as compliant with existing rules,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said after signing the amendments into law. “Kenya has always supported clean sport and will continue to do so.”WADA declared Kenya non-compliant with its anti-doping code, prompting the country to introduce new legislation. After WADA still found flaws, such as the presence of government officials in Kenya’s anti-doping agency, Kenya began working on amendments.Kenyan officials said last week that WADA had approved the amendments to prevent doping by Kenyan athletics.“The president instructed me to ensure all athletes going to the Games are screened and the results reported to him personally,” National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) Chairman Kipchoge Keino told Reuters after the signing.“We must fight doping and all forms of cheating in sports and Olympic movement,” said Keino. Among the high-profile Kenyan athletes who have failed doping tests was former three-time Boston City and Chicago marathon winner, Rita Jeptoo.