Anyone familiar with the work of Evie Dennis with the United States Olympic Committee wouldn’t believe that something as small as a mosquito could keep her from attending the Olympic Games.
After all, this is the woman who, as a relative newcomer to the Olympic Committee in 1978, stood up and made a motion to move the USOC headquarters from New York to Colorado Springs. The motion passed and ended some spirited discussion.
But in this case, the mosquito has won out. Health officials have voiced concern over the spread of the Zika virus that is carried by the mosquito.
“If there’s a contaminated mosquito down there, it will find me,” Dennis said last week. “I’m not going to Rio.”
Dennis, 91, a longtime Denverite and former superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, has been on the USOC staff at 18 Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Her career has included time as a USOC vice president and in the leadership of U.S. Track and Field.
“I still attend some Olympic meetings,” she said. “I try to stay involved.”
Bill Hybl, a former USOC president, remembers Dennis as a valuable asset to the Olympic program.
“Evie has had a distinguished career,” Hybl said. “I know that during my six years as president, she was invaluable.”
