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Summer Olympics 2012 London
- Thread starter singveld
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- london 2012 olympics
Cameroon Olympians want to box in UK after 'threats'
Cameroonian boxers who deserted their Olympic squad have told the BBC they want to stay in the UK to develop their careers.
The five boxers, who met the BBC at a secret location in London, went missing more than a week ago.
Cameroonian authorities said they suspected the boxers wanted to be economic migrants.
The boxers said they had absconded after they were threatened by senior members of the Cameroonian delegation.
Last week, swimmer Paul Ekane Edingue and female footballer Drusille Ngako also went missing from the Olympic village.
We cannot return to Cameroon... if we return, we will not practise anymore”
The boxers - Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adjoufack, Abdon Mewoli, Blaise Yepmou Mendouo and Serge Ambomo - said that there was no support for athletes in Cameroon.
In the BBC interview, Essomba said the boxers were looking for a sponsor to take them on and to help them obtain long-term residency.
"We are not staying here because we don't like our country, but [because we] want to practise the sports we love," he said.
"We want to become professional. We cannot return to Cameroon... if we return, we will not practise anymore."
Mendouo said Cameroonian officials had treated them badly during the Olympics - and there had been differences over their promised bonuses, which had been halved.
"Cameroonian authorities threatened us - those who brought us to these Games," he said.
"When a colleague was defeated, he was asked to give his passport."
The head of the Cameroon delegation to the Olympics, David Ojong, said the boxers were lying.
They had never been threatened and were making up the allegation to justify their desertion, he said.
The boxers have a visa to stay in the UK until November.
Cameroonian boxers who deserted their Olympic squad have told the BBC they want to stay in the UK to develop their careers.
The five boxers, who met the BBC at a secret location in London, went missing more than a week ago.
Cameroonian authorities said they suspected the boxers wanted to be economic migrants.
The boxers said they had absconded after they were threatened by senior members of the Cameroonian delegation.
Last week, swimmer Paul Ekane Edingue and female footballer Drusille Ngako also went missing from the Olympic village.
We cannot return to Cameroon... if we return, we will not practise anymore”
The boxers - Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adjoufack, Abdon Mewoli, Blaise Yepmou Mendouo and Serge Ambomo - said that there was no support for athletes in Cameroon.
In the BBC interview, Essomba said the boxers were looking for a sponsor to take them on and to help them obtain long-term residency.
"We are not staying here because we don't like our country, but [because we] want to practise the sports we love," he said.
"We want to become professional. We cannot return to Cameroon... if we return, we will not practise anymore."
Mendouo said Cameroonian officials had treated them badly during the Olympics - and there had been differences over their promised bonuses, which had been halved.
"Cameroonian authorities threatened us - those who brought us to these Games," he said.
"When a colleague was defeated, he was asked to give his passport."
The head of the Cameroon delegation to the Olympics, David Ojong, said the boxers were lying.
They had never been threatened and were making up the allegation to justify their desertion, he said.
The boxers have a visa to stay in the UK until November.
Cameroon asks for help in finding athletes
LONDON: Cameroon Olympic officials have asked for help in tracking down seven of their athletes who have gone missing during the London Olympics, organisers said on Wednesday.
The seven, including five boxers, a swimmer and a football player, have disappeared from the Olympic village in east London and are suspected of having left to stay in Europe for economic reasons.
The London Olympic organising committee (LOCOG) has notified British police, but there is nothing that can be done until their visas run out in November or there is an infringement, it said.
“They (the Cameroon National Olympic Committee) have written to us to say these athletes have left the village, and left their accommodation, and can we help,” a LOCOG spokeswoman told reporters.
“I think we are in quite a difficult position at the moment because they are able to be in this country. They are able to do what they like in this country, obviously within reason, but until that changes it is quite difficult.”
It is not the first time Cameroonian athletes have disappeared during international sports competitions. Britain’s Home Office (Interior Ministry) would not comment on whether any of the seven had applied for asylum, and London’s Metropolitan police also declined to comment.
An International Olympic Committee spokesman said it was “watching the situation”, but at this stage he did not think it was “necessary for the IOC to be worried about whether they will or will not outstay their welcome”.
Cameroon officials have said a reserve goalkeeper for the women’s football team, Drusille Ngako, was the first to disappear. She was not one of the 18 finally retained after pre-Olympic training in Scotland. Five boxers eliminated from the games, Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adjoufack, Yhyacinthe Abdon Mewoli, Blaise Yepmou Mendouo and Serge Ambomo, disappeared on Sunday from the Olympic village.
LONDON: Cameroon Olympic officials have asked for help in tracking down seven of their athletes who have gone missing during the London Olympics, organisers said on Wednesday.
The seven, including five boxers, a swimmer and a football player, have disappeared from the Olympic village in east London and are suspected of having left to stay in Europe for economic reasons.
The London Olympic organising committee (LOCOG) has notified British police, but there is nothing that can be done until their visas run out in November or there is an infringement, it said.
“They (the Cameroon National Olympic Committee) have written to us to say these athletes have left the village, and left their accommodation, and can we help,” a LOCOG spokeswoman told reporters.
“I think we are in quite a difficult position at the moment because they are able to be in this country. They are able to do what they like in this country, obviously within reason, but until that changes it is quite difficult.”
It is not the first time Cameroonian athletes have disappeared during international sports competitions. Britain’s Home Office (Interior Ministry) would not comment on whether any of the seven had applied for asylum, and London’s Metropolitan police also declined to comment.
An International Olympic Committee spokesman said it was “watching the situation”, but at this stage he did not think it was “necessary for the IOC to be worried about whether they will or will not outstay their welcome”.
Cameroon officials have said a reserve goalkeeper for the women’s football team, Drusille Ngako, was the first to disappear. She was not one of the 18 finally retained after pre-Olympic training in Scotland. Five boxers eliminated from the games, Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adjoufack, Yhyacinthe Abdon Mewoli, Blaise Yepmou Mendouo and Serge Ambomo, disappeared on Sunday from the Olympic village.
Most good nights out end with a takeaway! Athletes celebrate a break from all the hard work... with a McDonald's
They've spent the last four years training and eating carefully to make sure they were on top form for London 2012.
So now that it's over, it's understandable some athletes would want to indulge before launching themselves into preparation for Rio 2016.
And many did just just that in the early hours this morning - heading down to the local McDonald's in Stratford straight after the closing ceremony finished.
It's free, where are the sinkies athletes?
They've spent the last four years training and eating carefully to make sure they were on top form for London 2012.
So now that it's over, it's understandable some athletes would want to indulge before launching themselves into preparation for Rio 2016.
And many did just just that in the early hours this morning - heading down to the local McDonald's in Stratford straight after the closing ceremony finished.
It's free, where are the sinkies athletes?
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