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Nigerian athletes may miss African senior championship in Durban

By Gowon Akpodonor
03 June 2016   |   4:54 am
Unless a miracle happens, Nigeria may not participate in this year’s African Senior Athletics Championships holding in Durban, South Africa this month.

 

Tosin Adeloye, second left, failed drug test

Tosin Adeloye, second left, failed drug test

Adeloye is banned for life, says AFN

Unless a miracle happens, Nigeria may not participate in this year’s African Senior Athletics Championships holding in Durban, South Africa this month.

The championship, which will run from June 22 to 27 in the Rainbow Nation, will serve as final selection ground for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to pick athletes that will fly Nigeria’s flag at Rio 2016 Olympics.

Nigeria finished second behind South Africa at the last African Senior Athletics Championship in Morocco, but this time, the AFN is hoping to put up a more formidable challenge.

An official of the AFN told The Guardian yesterday that the federation was not sure of making it to Durban following ‘inability’ of the sports ministry in Abuja to release fund.

According to the official, the AFN had been struggling to raise money to attend competitions, including the Golden Leagues, to put the athletes in shape for the Olympics.

“We have done our part and the athletes have done their part by qualifying for the Rio Olympics. But it will be shameful if Nigeria failed to attend the championship in South Africa because this is where we hope to select our final team for Rio.

“As we speak, we have not gotten any positive response from the sports ministry concerning our request for fund to attend the championship. By the time the Olympics Games starts in Rio and our athletes fail to live up to expectation, it is these same people who will start blaming the AFN for poor preparation. We can’t continue this way,” the official said.

On the 400m female athlete, Tosin Adeloye, who was banned eight years by the IAAF for failing drug test, the AFN official said: “It is sad, but the AFN should be commended for our stand against the use of banned drugs. We conducted the doping test in Warri last year, unlike some other countries that will shade their athletes. But we must not dwell on the issue of Tosin for now.

Our main focus is how to get the needed fund for our athletes to attend the championship in Durban,” the official stated.It was learnt that Adeloye, who hails from Ekiti State, first failed drug test during the last National Sports Festival, Eko 2012, before she tested positive last year during the Warri Open Championship in Delta State. The IAAF handed her eight-year ban two days ago. “As a second offender, Adeloye is banned for life. It will serve as deterrent for others,” the AFN official said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the final leg of the AFN Golden League will hold in Akure on Monday, June 6, 2016 inside the Sports Complex of the Federal University of Technology, FUTA.

Olukayode Thomas, AFN Head of the Media, in a press statement explained that Federation is opting to have the Akure Meet on Monday in order to beat the deadline to submit final entries for the African Senior Athletics Championship billed for Durban, South Africa later this month.

Some of the events expected to be competed for in Akure are the men and women’s 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m, 1500m, 100m/110m hurdles and 400m hurdles.The field events, include the men and women’s Triple Jump, Long Jump, Javelin throw, shot put and a host of others.

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