Nigeria athletes protest disqualification from Tokyo 2020 Olympics (photos)
A cross-section of Team Nigeria athletes took to the street of Tokyo on Friday to protest their disqualifications from the 2020 Olympics for not complying with out-of-competition drug testing requirements.
A total of ten Team Nigeria athletes were on Wednesday barred from the the Games for not sticking to the rules by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), a situation which was not acceptable judging from the messages on their placards during the protest, ‘WE’RE NOT ALTERNATES BUT POTENTIAL MEDALIST’, ‘ALL WE WANT TO DO IS TO COMPETE’, ‘WHY SHOULD WE SUFFER BECAUSE OF SOMEONE ELSE’S NEGLIGENCE’.
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Interestingly, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) on Thursday admitted “lapses” on its part over the disqualification of the athletes.
“The AFN bears responsibility for any lapses that may have occurred during the process and reassures Nigerians that our performances (at Tokyo Olympics) will not be negatively impacted,” it said in a statement.