Athletics

Tirop’s death reveals Kenyan female athletes are in abusive relationships, says official

Published

3 years ago

October 15, 2021

The tragic killing of Olympian Agnes Tirop casts a dark shadow on the safety of Kenya’s female athletes in their marriages and relationships, high ranking Athletics Kenya (AK) officials have reportedly said in a Kenyan newspaper, The Standard.

Tirop’s lifeless body, riddled with stab wounds, was found in her house in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet county in suspected homicide.

Tirop, 25, was part of the triumphant Kenyan contingent to this year’s delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she represented the country in the 5,000m race and finished 4th in the final.

On Thursday, grieving AK Athlete’s Representative Milka Chemos and women Committee member Elizabeth Keitany said “a majority of Kenya’s female athletes are in abusive relationships, but afraid of coming out.”

“They are endangered species,” Keitany, the AK women Committee member, said. “The challenge is they won’t speak up out of fear. Some of them got into relations out of genuine love but in reality they don’t know what they get into,” Keitany said.

“We always get reports of quite a number of them in abusive marriages, but they don’t open up,” Keitany said.

Chemos, the World champion in 3000m steeplechase, and now athlete’s representative, said they spoke with Tirop as recent as Monday afternoon. “We spoke about many things, little did I know tragedy was on her way,” Chemos said.

“There are several athletes among them top athletes that I know, who are in abusive relations but they lack the courage to go public about it,” she said.

“AK has been planning for a seminar for the female athletes, a forum where we hope they would open up on their relationships. We need to rally behind the female athletes because, honestly there is a lot most of them are going through,” Chemos said.

Keitany and Chemos called on the female athletes to stop suffering in silence.

“Once an athlete is in a relationship, there is nothing we or even the government can do about it. However, they should be alive to the dangers of staying in abusive relationships,” Keitany said.

“Perhaps the only help we can seek now from government is to facilitate seminars for the female athletes where they can learn some life skills and how to react in situations that otherwise lead to bigger problems later,” Keitany said.

President Uhuru Kenya described the killing of Tirop as, “Unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad.”

“We’ve lost a young and promising athlete who, at a young age of 25 years, she had brought our country so much glory through her exploits on the global athletics stage including in this year’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she was part of the Kenyan team in Japan,” the President eulogised.

Athletics

Record 6000 runners register for 2nd Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run

Published

3 days ago

September 17, 2024

Kunle Solaja

A record 6,000 runners, local and international from across the African continent and Nigeria have registered for the second edition of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run slated for September 28, 2024, as the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Limited guns for a bronze label status for the race.

The Chief Operating Officer of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Ebidowie Oweifie, noted that the theme of this year’s edition of the Abeokuta 10km Race titled ‘For Greatness’ out is out to commemorate the birthday anniversary of the Egba paramount ruler, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo 111, the 10km Run will flag off at Iyana Oloke at 6am and finish at The Alake Palace, Abeokuta.

Kenya’s Peter Nwaniki is the men’s race defending champion at a time of 28 minutes 14 seconds, while Shamila Kipsirir also of Kenya is the women’s defending champion.

Nigeria’s race men’s defending champion is Francis James at 31minutes 08seconds, while the women’s defending champion is Patience Daylop at 36 minutes 31 seconds.

The second edition of Abeokuta10km Race will be sponsored by Lotus Bank, FEBBS Premium Water, Fatgbems Petroleum Limited and Cash Token.

Athletics

Behold, CAS statement on Tobi Amusan

Published

3 months ago

June 29, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is the winner as the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS has rejected the appeals filed by World Athletics and WADA.

The decision confirms the decision taken by the World Athletics disciplinary tribunal finding that Tobi Amusan did not commit any anti-doping rule violation.

Here is the full statement of CAS.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeals filed by

World Athletics (WA) and by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision issued on 17 August 2023 (the Challenged Decision) by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) in relation to the hurdler Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Amusan (Nigeria).

Accordingly, the Challenged Decision in which the WADT considered that Tobi Amusan did not violate Rule 2.4 of the WA Anti-Doping Rules (WA ADR) and that no period of ineligibility should be imposed on the Athlete is confirmed.

The Athlete was initially charged with committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Rule 2.4 WA ADR following three alleged Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.

In their respective appeal to CAS, WA and WADA had sought the imposition of a two-year period of ineligibility. The CAS Panel held a hearing on 19 January 2024. Having deliberated, the CAS Panel has issued its decision today dismissing both appeals. The CAS Panel unanimously acknowledged that the Athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within a 12-month

period. Accordingly, the CAS Panel concluded that the Athlete did not commit an ADRV and that the Challenged Decision should be confirmed.

The reasoned award will be published by CAS unless the parties request confidentiality.

Athletics

Tobi Amusan floors WADA and World Athletics!

Published

3 months ago

June 29, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Nigeria’s Paris 2024 medal hopeful, Tobi Amusan has been cleared as the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Athletics.

She is therefore cleared to feature at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Amusan is the 100m hurdles world record holder.

The athlete was charged in July last year with missing three anti-doping tests in 12 months but was cleared of the offence by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the sport’s governing body, World Athletics.

The Integrity Unit of the World Athletics appealed the clearance which has now been dismissed by CAS, the final arbiter in the case.

CAS in its statement remarked that its panel “unanimously acknowledged that the athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within 12 months.”

Amusan set the world record of 12.12 seconds in the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July 2022 and went on to win the title.

She finished sixth in the world championships in Budapest last year.

World Athletics’ anti-doping rules say any athlete failing to declare their whereabouts for a doping test on three occasions over 12 months is ineligible to compete for two years.