Sade Olatoye, a Nigerian shot put athlete, has disclosed that she and her teammates received no financial backing from the President Bola Tinubu-led administration during their preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In an interview with NewsCentral, Olatoye revealed that the team had to self-fund their entire journey, including training, coaching, medical expenses, and competition fees.
She said it wasn’t until they reached the championship stage that they heard about potential grants, which barely covered two per cent of their four-year training expenses.
“Pretty much every year, me and my teammates, everything is out of pocket. We pay for our own training, coaches, medical, competition, so everything is out of pocket.
“It is not until we get to the championship that we start hearing about potential grants. I have been training for four years, being given the grant at the competition which doesn’t pay for 2% of what I pay out of my pocket for four years of training,” she said.
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Olatoye’s statement comes after the government expressed disappointment at Nigeria’s poor performance at the Olympics, labeling it a “disaster”.
The country failed to win any medal at the competition.
The team’s underwhelming performance sparked widespread criticism from Nigerians, who are holding the government accountable for the failure.
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