Favour Ofili Olympics: National sprint champion reveals the INSANE blunder that stopped her from racing in Paris: ‘I worked for four years – for what?’

Nigeria’s women’s 100-meter sprint national champion will not compete at the Paris Olympics due to what has been termed a significant clerical error from her country’s athletics federation.

Favour Ofili expressed her disappointment on social media, stating, “It is with great regret that I have just been informed I will not be competing in the 100 meters at this Olympic Games.”

She continued: “I have dedicated four years to earning this opportunity, only to be excluded from the Olympic Games because the organization responsible [the Nigerian Olympic Committee] failed to register me.”

The preliminary heats for the women’s 100 meters are set to begin on Friday.

Ofili claimed the national title in June with a time of 11.06 seconds, and her personal best of 10.93 seconds would likely have secured her a place in the finals.

Despite this setback, she remains registered for the 200 meters and the 4×100 relay.

Previously, Ofili could not compete in the Tokyo Games due to Nigeria’s failure to fulfill minimum testing requirements set by track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit.

In a passionate Instagram post, she condemned both the NOC and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, stating, “If those responsible are NOT held accountable for taking this opportunity from me, neither organization can EVER be trusted again!”

Favour Ofili, the Nigerian national champion in the 100-meter sprint, unable to compete in Paris

The 21-year-old athlete trained hard for her shot at the world’s fastest women but was sidelined due to an administrative blunder

Ofili, seen winning a race in 2022, registered a personal best that could have sent her to the finals in Paris

In a statement, Nigeria’s sports minister, John Enoh, mentioned that he had communicated with officials from the athletics federation, who assured him that Ofili was included on registration forms for the 100, 200, and 4×100 events, which were forwarded to the Nigerian Olympic Committee.

Enoh is currently awaiting a clarification from the NOC leader regarding the reason behind her exclusion from the 100-meter race.

This incident is not isolated; Nigerian athletes have faced similar complications in the past. At the 2019 world championships, a documentation error nearly disqualified Divine Oduduru and Blessing Okagbare, who were only allowed to compete after appealing to World Athletics.

Additionally, hammer thrower Annette Echikunwoke missed the Tokyo Olympics due to the same drug-testing issues that sidelined Ofili.