Because the individuals in charge of testing athletes in Nigeria failed to do so, ten Nigerian athletes were barred from competing in the Olympics.
While Track & Field talents are already battling for gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Tokyo, 10 Nigerian athletes are protesting after they were excluded from the Games.
Because of non-compliance with the Out of Competition Testing (OCT) rule, the Olympics’ Track and Field events began without ten Nigerian athletes.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), a unit of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that was founded in April 2017 to combat doping in the sport of athletics, released a statement on Wednesday, July 28 to announce that these athletes were not eligible to compete because the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 of the Anti-Doping Rules were not met by ‘Category A’ Federations.
In simple terms, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), the body that governs athletics in Nigeria, which falls under the ‘Category A’ federations, did not conduct enough urine and blood tests for these athletes.
The athletes involved have voiced their disappointment at seeing their aspirations of competing in the Olympics crushed due to the Ministry of Sports and the AFN’s incompetence.
They organized a demonstration in Tokyo with placards calling out the Ministry of Sports and the AFN for their disqualification due to their incompetence.
“Why should we suffer because of someone else’s negligence,” a banner held by one of the athletes read.
“All we wanted to do is to compete,” another banner read.
Source: Gossips24.com
