Rory McIlroy's Olympic 'statement' in Paris alongside wife Erica Stoll

Rory McIlroy was spotted enjoying a break at the 2024 Paris Olympics with his wife Erica Stoll on Wednesday before teeing off in the golf competition the following day. McIlroy is representing Team Ireland for the second time, alongside Shane Lowry, at Le Golf National in Paris.

Videos show the pair getting into the sporting spirit, dropping by to watch the men's tennis the night before their first round where players Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal faced off against Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. McIlroy was joined by his wife Stoll, not long after the news broke that their impending divorce had been called off.

Back in May, right before the PGA Championship, word got out that McIlroy had filed for divorce from Stoll, seven years after their wedding. According to the documents they filed , there was talk of their marriage being 'on the rocks', and they both wanted to co-parent their daughter, Poppy.

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However, barely a month down the line - and just as another big tournament was around the corner - Rory's personal life was back under the media gaze as he publicly put a stop to the divorce rumours, mere days before the US Open kicked off.

However, he shut down rumours when talking to The Guardian. "There have been rumours about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate," he said, reports the Mirror .

"Responding to each rumour is a fool's game. Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realised that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning."

Days after addressing relationship rumours, McIlroy narrowly missed clinching a major title, just one stroke behind Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst No. 2. Following his near-miss at the US Open, he took a brief hiatus before returning at the Genesis Scottish Open last month. During the tournament at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, McIlroy had the backing of his wife Erica, who was seen supporting him during the first round.

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McIlroy then set his sights on The Open Championship at Royal Troon but failed to make the cut after 36 holes. Subsequently, the 2014 Open champion enjoyed some downtime in Portugal with Stoll before heading to Paris for this month's Summer Games.

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Despite previously downplaying the Olympics, McIlroy seems to hold a different viewpoint now, stating this week: "I've been asked this question a lot, where would an Olympic medal sit in sort of the hierarchy of my career achievements and it's something I probably won't be able to answer until when everything is said and done.

"I think as golf is in the Olympics for a longer period of time ,it will become more of -- I don't know if anything will be able to sit alongside the majors. We have our four events a year that are the gold standard. But I think this is going to be -- in time, going to be right up there amongst that."

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