AFN Insists Favour Ofili Was Registered for 100m at Paris Olympics
Paris, France – The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has stated that they are unable to explain the omission of Favour Ofili, the women’s 100m national champion, from the women’s 100m event at the Paris Olympics Games. The AFN insists that Ofili was registered for the 100m, 200m, and the women’s 4x100m relay.
Ofili raised an alarm on Tuesday night, accusing the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the AFN of failing to register her for the 100m event.
“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,” Ofili lamented.
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AFN Technical Director Samuel Onikeku expressed the federation’s shock over the development.
“We registered Favour Ofili for the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay. We don’t know how her name got missing in the 100m. This is our stand as a federation,” Onikeku said via AFN Media.
However, a check on the entry list published by World Athletics shows that Ofili will be competing in the 200m and women’s 4x100m relay.
Ofili secured her qualification for the women’s 100m during the AFN National Trials held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, in June, clocking a new personal best of 11.06 seconds to secure her first national title.
In April, she also qualified for the Olympics 200m mark at the Tom Jones Memorial Classic with a time of 22.33 seconds.
The athletics events of the Paris Games will commence on Thursday with the men’s 20m race walk. The first round of the women’s 100m, which Ofili has highlighted as a point of contention, is scheduled to begin on Friday.
Source: AFN Media, World Athletics.