The Athletics Federation of Nigeria has exempted two top US-based athletes from the ongoing 69th All Nigeria Athletics Championships that got underway at the Warri City Stadium on Thursday.
Blessing Okagbare and Chinwe Okoro requested to be exempted from the meet and the federation granted it, Media Officer of the federation, Olukayode Thomas, said in a statement released in Lagos on Thursday.
The statement said the two-day championship would serve as trials for selection of athletes to the Beijing 2015 1AAF Athletics Championship and 11th All Africa Games to be hosted by Congo, Brazzaville.
It said: “Okagbare’s medical and sports science team in a letter to the board through the medical committee headed by Ken Anugweje, a professor, pleaded with the federation to exempt her so as to enable her to treat a knee injury and an abdominal problem.”
It quoted the team as saying that the need to treat the injury and be fully fit for the World Championships had compelled Okagbare to withdraw from the Diamond League and other competitions.
The statement said Okoro had also written to the board seeking exemption because the period of the trials coincided with her Master’s degree examination.
It noted that after deliberation on the subject matter, the board acceded to the request of the two athletes.
The statement said the technical department acknowledged that with the exemptions, the federation would have more slots at the World Championships since they had since gained automatic qualification as Area Champions.
NAN.
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