In a surprising turn, a Nigerian sprinter will not compete in the 100m at Paris 2024. Get all the details on this Olympic development.
Favour Ofili, a sprinter from Nigeria, revealed her frustration on Tuesday by stating that she will not participate in the 100-meter race at the current Olympics being held in Paris.
The reason for Ofili’s exclusion was attributed to administrative shortcomings on the part of both the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC), as cited by her.
Expressing doubt about the reliability of both entities, Ofili – a former track and field athlete at LSU – has urged for accountability measures to be put in place by those held responsible.
Her qualifications were overlooked once again by officials, resulting in her exclusion from the event – mirroring what had occurred during Tokyo 2020.
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Ofili penned a poignant message expressing disappointment, recounting,”It’s with immense sorrow to learn that I won’t be partaking in the 100 metres event at this year’s Olympic Games. Despite qualifying for it, AFN and NOC neglected my entry. It took me four years of relentless effort to earn this chance just to end up like this.”
She emphasized that during the previous Olympic Games, she and thirteen other Nigerian athletes were unable to participate due to a lack of funding from AFN, NADC, and NOC which was required for mandatory testing.
She expressed her concern about holding those who are responsible accountable as it has resulted in missing out on an opportunity.
Furthermore, she stated that neither organization can be trusted again in future if action is not taken against them. Her next event is the 200 meters and hopes to be considered for entry into this category.
Despite facing setbacks, Ofili has earned her spot in the women’s 200m event at the Paris Olympics of 2024.
She is determined to showcase her talent after being among ten Nigerian athletes disqualified from participating in Tokyo’s competition by Athletics’ Integrity Unit due to insufficient testing.
At only twenty-one years old, she remains optimistic about making a name for herself in this sport category.
Ofili, who has an impressive track record including securing a Top 8 spot at the World Championships and winning medals in various events such as Commonwealth Games silver medalist, African Games champion, former World U20 champion, and African Senior Athletics Championships winner for the 200m is making her first appearance at Olympics in Paris.
At present, she holds the 23rd spot in the world for the 100m and ranks as number 52 for the 200m; however, her personal bests are at positions of number thirteen (for 200m), twenty-three (for100m), and thirty-seven (for400 metre). In just one month, which was May to be precise, Ofili broke three records.
Efforts to obtain statements from representatives of the AFN and NOC were unsuccessful as of this report.
