Favour Ofili, one of Nigeria’s top sprinters, has been denied the opportunity to compete in the women’s 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics due to administrative failures.
The 21-year-old athlete expressed her frustration and disappointment on social media, revealing that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) failed to enter her name for the event despite her qualification.
This means, the former LSU and SEC standout will not be lacing her spikes up against the likes of Sha’Carri Richardson, Shericka Jackson, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
“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 wrote on X.
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This is not the first time Ofili has faced such disappointment. She was unable to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to inadequate testing provisions.
Ofili lamented, “Please remember, in the last Olympic Games I was not able to compete because AFN, NADC and NOC failed to release funds for athletes to be tested, which made 14 Nigeria athletes that qualified to not compete. Now THIS……”
Ofili, who recently broke the African women’s 150m record at the Adidas Atlanta City games in June with 16.30 second, has run as fast as 10.78 seconds (+2.2m/s) wind-aided and owns a personal best of 10.93 secs.
She has achieved a Top 8 finish at the World Championships, won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, and is an African Games champion.
The sprinter is now hoping to compete in the 200m event, for which she has also qualified. “Next one is the 200meters, I HOPE IM ENTERED,” she added.
This incident has sparked outrage among supporters and fellow athletes, with many calling for accountability and reforms within the AFN and NOC.
The situation raises concerns about the management of Nigerian athletics and its potential impact on the country’s Olympic aspirations.
