Amata slams AFN enquiry

13.05.2008

National female high jump record holder, Doreen Amata has slammed the panel set up during the African Athletics Championship in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to probe some athletes’ performances during the competition.

Amata opined in an explosive chat with brilafm.net that the panel was insensitive to her plight, after failing to scale 1.84 meters in her very first jump.

She recalled how embarrassed she felt, being queried immediately after when the officials asked her to give reasons for what they called a below par performance.

The Lagos State University undergraduate, however, said the panel was uncalled for, describing the AFN move as hurting, especially considering her plight of not picking a medal at the continental meet.

“I really don’t have anything wrong with being asked what went wrong, but it’s the timing of the enquiry that bothered me.

“I was grieved and worried that they just called me right after my jump. I was still worrying that I could not do what I had intended all along, but they just started asking questions.

“It was really touching and emotional, and I felt like crying,” recalled the lanky lass fondly called Omoga.