Twenty athletes, including ten Nigerians, have been banned from the Tokyo Olympics for failing to meet out-of-competition doping control standards, it was announced Thursday, July 29. Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

These twenty athletes are among the countries ranked by the IAU in Class Adiet “high risk”, whose representatives must undergo three auditions in the ten months prior to a major tournament.

Nigeria is the country most affected, with ten of the 23 athletics qualifiers failing. According to an informed source, Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okajbar, one of the contenders for the Olympic 100m title, is not on this list.

In a statement, the Nigerian Athletics Federation (AFN) acknowledged on Thursday “Failures”. she said suppose “Liability for any breach” Which led to this exclusion, adding that all athletes, especially those residing in the United States, have undergone the necessary checks.

“However, few athletes have been tested in the US college system, but these tests were found not to meet WADA’s collection and test criteria.”According to AFN.

If the Nigerian Federation, in the grip of a power struggle for several years, confirms that the country’s performance will not be affected by this news, then Nigerian star sprinter Blessing Okagbari, who will compete in the 100 and 200 meters races in Tokyo, was deeply affected. critical. “Nigeria’s sports system is completely flawed and we, the athletes, remain collateral victims”, via Twitter.

They were busy fighting for power, excited by their pride in Puma contracts/groups forgetting their main responsibility as “athletes”. It’s sad that this cycle keeps repeating itself and some people come out saying I’m arrogant for telling the truth. It’s my profession

— Grace Okagbare MFR (@mountain214) 29 July 2021

The other countries affected are Kenya (2 players), Belarus (3), Ethiopia (1), Morocco (1) and Ukraine (3). On the other hand, it was possible to replace the excluded Kenyan athletes before the formalization of the participants in the Olympic Games, which made it possible to rehabilitate the 1500m world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who is only fourth among the selections. His country, at the expense of Kamar Etiang, took second place in the race.

While it made vulnerable countries ‘Big improvements’ in anti-doping, “There is still a long way to go.”quoting the press release, said David Homan, president of the International Astronomical Union, citing the press release.