By Daily Sports Nigeria on August 19, 2024

Over a week after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, revelations about the poor conditions of Nigerian athletes before the Games are still emerging after they failed to win a medal at the Olympics for the eighth time in the country’s history, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The latest is coming from Nigeria’s hammer thrower Sade Olatoye and her discus counterpart Chioma Onyekwere who both reflected on the lack of funding before major competitions as a major factor which led to the country’s failure in Paris.

Olatoye who finished 14th in the women’s hammer throw with a mark of 66.41m in Paris revealed that she pays for everything she needs to train herself.

“Every year, me and my teammates, everything is out of pocket. We pay for our training, coaches medical and even competitions,” Olatoye told News Central TV.

“Everything is out of pocket. It’s not until we get to championships that we hear about potential grants.”

Although the Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, announced that the athletes, both foreign and home-based were paid training grants at the Olympics, Olatoye claimed the said grant doesn’t add up to what they must have expended personally before the Games.

“Having trained for four years, being given the grant during the competition can’t pay for two per cent of what I pay out of my pocket for four years of training,” the African champion said.

“We have training partners who compete for the US in the same tier as me; they receive a minimum of $40,000 in grants per year. For Canada, they have grants they receive $2,000 to $3,000 per month.”

Two-time African champion, Commonwealth Games champion and African Games winner, Onyekwere, also said, “It’s not a coincidence that the countries that provide support and funding to their athletes have a medal count.”

The 30 30-year-old also didn’t make the final of the women’s discus throw in Paris, finishing 15th in the qualifiers with a mark of 60.78m.

Source

Posted August 19, 2024

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