Okagbare Blames Power Tussle in AFN for Ban of 10 Nigerian Athletes

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS

*”They were busy fighting over power, exercising their pride over PUMA contract/kits forgetting their major responsibility THE ATHLETES”

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Nigeria’s sprint Queen, Blessing Okagbare has lambasted sports administrators involved in the power tussle in the last board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) for the banning of 10 Nigerian athletes from the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

On Wednesday, Nigeria accounted for half of the 20 athletes disqualified by Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) arm of the World Athletics from seven countries on the account of AFN officials unable to understand the application of Rule 15 of AIU which has been in operation in the last three years.

Nigeria had 10 athletes banned while Belarus (3), Ethiopia (1), Kenya (2), Morocco (1), Ukraine (3), and Bahrain (0) complete the list of countries whose athletes missed three Out of Competition Tests (OCT).

Okagbare who won a women’s long jump bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics (later upgraded to silver following the banning of a Russian jumper), took to Twitter yesterday to appropriately put the blame on the doorsteps of the AFN board members that were involved in the fight to control the federation to the detriment of the athletes.

“They were busy fighting over power, exercising their pride over PUMA contract/kits forgetting their major responsibility THE ATHLETES. It’s sad that this circle keeps repeating itself and some people will come out to say I am arrogant for speaking my truth. It is my CAREER,” observed the double sprint gold medalists at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014.

Okagbare who made her fourth appearance at the Olympics running in the women’s 100m heat early this morning, further blamed men who lacked knowledge about sports running track & field in the country.

“I have said it before and I will say it again: If you do not know the sport, not passionate about it/Us (the athletes), then you have no business there as an administrator,” stressed the Sapele-born speedster who also have a World Championships silver and a bronze to show from the Moscow edition in 2013.

She decried the situation where athletes are made to bear the brunt of ineptitude of failed administrators.

“The sport system in Nigeria is so flawed and we athletes, are always at the receiving end of the damage,” Okagbare recalled with sadness.

Meanwhile, Okagbare is leading the other 11 Nigerian athletes cleared to feature in the track & field events starting today in Tokyo.

Also cleared to contest are sprint hurdler, Tobiloba Amusan who is ranked number four in the 100m hurdles; long jumper Ese Brume who tops the world list in her event coming to the games and Grace Nwokocha, the home-based sensation who clocked 11.09 seconds in March at the MOC Grand Prix in Lagos to seal her qualification for the Tokyo Games.

Others are the trio of Divine Oduduru, Enoch Adegoke and Ushoritse Itshekiri who will be competing in the men’s 100m while Oduduru will also race in the 200m, an event he holds the national record of 19.73 seconds which he set two years ago in Austin, Texas in the USA to win the NCAA gold.

Shot putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi who made it to the event’s final at the World Athletics Championship in Doha, Qatar in 2019 is also cleared to compete.

The 4x400m mixed relay quartet of Imaobong Nse Uko, Patience Okon-George, Nataniel Samson and Ifeanyi Ojeli are also cleared to compete and will be in action today in the first semifinal heat.

Athletics accounts for 13 of the 25 medals won by Nigeria so far at the Olympic and two of the three gold medals.

Chioma Ajunwa won the country’s first and only individual gold medal at Atlanta in 1996. Her winning 7.12m jump was only this year earned by Ese Brume who is aiming to repeat the feat in Tokyo.

Nigeria’s 4x400m relay team of Sunday Bada, Enefiok Udo-Obong, Clement Chukwu, Nduka Awazie, Jude Monye and Fidelis Tafida Gadzama won the silver that was later upgraded to gold after USA was disqualified for dope infraction.

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