Changalawe’s chance of featuring in Paris Games unclear
Amateur boxer Yusuph Changalawe (second right) poses with his team officials in a past event. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Changalawe was among the four athletes whom they requested IOC to grant the wildcard, but only three have so far been granted including swimmers Collins Saliboko and Sophia Latiff and judoka Andrew Mlugo.
Dar es Salaam. The chance of amateur boxing star Yusuph Changalawe to feature in the next Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Paris, France, is unclear, according to the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC).
Speaking with The Citizen yesterday, TOC secretary general Filbert Bayi said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is yet to respond to their request for granting Changalawe a wild card entry to the multi-port event.
Bayi said Changalawe was among the four athletes whom they requested IOC to grant the wildcard, but only three have so far been granted including swimmers Collins Saliboko and Sophia Latiff and judoka Andrew Mlugo.
“I have written a reminder to IOC asking for the fate of Changalwe ahead of the Paris Olympic Games and we are waiting to hear from them.
“We had requested for Changalawe together with other three, but they accepted for swimmers and a judoka, let’s wait as we are pushing on the matter,” said Bayi.
He said so far seven sportsmen and women will represent the country in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which have been scheduled to commence from July 26 to August 11.
They include runners Alphonce Simbu, Gabriel Geay, Magdalena Shauri, and Jackline Sakilu who secured a slot after doing well in the qualification events. The City of Paris was awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on September 13, 2017.
After multiple withdrawals that left only Paris and Los Angeles in contention, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to the two remaining candidate cities.
Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris will become the second city to host the Summer Olympics three times (after London which hosted the 1908, 1948 and 2012 Games).
Paris 2024 will mark the centenary of Paris 1924 and Chamonix 1924, and these will be the sixth Olympic Games hosted by France (three Summer Olympics and three Winter Olympics) and the first French Olympics since the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville.
