Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili has expressed her disdain after officials of her country failed to register her for the women’s 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Ofili qualified for her maiden appearance at the Games, specifically in the 100m and 200m events, and is part of her country’s 4x100m relay team. But in a social media post, Favour Ofili questioned the reason for the administrative error:
@FavOfili
“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 me. I have worked for 4 years to earn this opportunity. For what?”
Meanwhile, the 100m event is due to start on Friday. However, the Nigerian Athletics Federation (AFN) and World Athletics deny responsibility for the error.
Solomon Ogba, a vice president of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, told BBC Sport Africa in Paris, “We are trying to get to the root of it because she qualified in our trials and the result was sent to World Athletics. We just confirmed that. Normally World Athletics will send [entries] for Paris 2024. That is where the confusion is.”
The Nigerian sports minister has indicated an investigation is underway to find out what happened and that there will be “thorough sanctions” for those responsible for the debacle.
