Nigerian athlete, Favour Ofili announced she will not participate in the women’s 100 meters at the Paris Olympics because the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) failed to register her for the event despite her qualification.
The 22-year-old sprinter shared the news on her social media page on Tuesday. Ofili had qualified for the women’s 100 meters at the Olympics by clinching the national title in April. However, the Louisiana State University (LSU) student revealed that she was not included among the country’s representatives for the race at the Olympics.
Ofili accused the NOC and AFN of depriving her of the opportunity and expressed her distrust in both organizations. “It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 meters at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter my name. I have worked for 4 years to earn this opportunity,” she wrote. “For what? To not be entered and compete at the Olympic Games because the responsible organisation failed to enter me?”
Ofili, who also qualified for the women’s 200-meter race, hopes the omission does not extend to that event. In 2021, Ofili was among ten Nigerian track and field athletes disqualified from participating in the Tokyo Olympics due to non-compliance with the out-of-competition testing (OCT) requirement, according to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
The 2024 Paris Olympics commenced on July 26th, with the track and field events scheduled to start on August 1st, 2024.
