Athletes from the Nigerian contingent in Tokyo on Friday took to the streets to stage a protest over the ban of ten of them from taking part in the track and field events at the ongoing Olympic Games.
The protesting athletes carried placards with inscriptions such as “Why should we suffer for someone else’s negligence”, “We are not just alternates but potential medalists,” and “All we wanted to do was compete.”
They expressed frustration at seeing their dreams of competing at the ongoing Olympics dashed by negligence from the Ministry of Sports and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which runs the anti-doping program for the sport, disclosed that the athletes failed to meet the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 of the Anti-Doping Rules for ‘Category A’ federations.
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Meanwhile, two Nigerian athletes, Blessing Okagbare and Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha, have made it to the semi finals of the women’s 100m race in the ongoing Olympic Games in Tokyo.
This is the first time since 2012 Nigerians will be having two of her athletes contesting in the semifinals of the 100m women race.
However, following the disqualification, the President of the AFN, Tonok Okowa, in a statement, said that the affected athletes who did not undergo tests were resident in America.