A Kenyan athlete Alexandra Ndolo has expressed her disappointment towards the government, particularly the Ministry of Sports.
This is after she failed to participate in the first Fencing World cup of the 23/24 season for lack of enrollment by the Kenya Fencing Federation.
“I will not be participating in the first World cup of the 2023/24 season. No Legnano for me,” she said on her social media.
The Legnano (Italy) Fencing World Cup competition is the first of the eight competitions to be played this season.
Ndolo further explained that the unfortunate event was the worst she has experienced in over 15 years as a professional athlete.
“I arrived at the competition sight and was informed that I not only had no hotel reservation, but more importantly, was not enrolled in the competition,” she went on to explain.
Furthermore, the athlete noted that she had asked the Federation weeks ago to enroll her.
In addition, she explained that she asked for hotel reservations for her together with her coach and physio.
Athlete enrollment
Notably, she noted that even if she had insisted on reserving the hotel by herself, she could not have enrolled in the competition by herself.
Alexandra further stated, “This can only be done by federations, not individual athletes. I am beyond frustrated about this situation!”
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In addition, her disappointment is fueled by the fact that missing the competition suffers her a huge blow.
She revealed that lack of competing means that she will not be able to defend the points she got at last year’s first World cup.
“As a result, I will drop out of the top 16 in the world ranking.
In addition, I will not be able to collect crucial points for the ongoing Olympic qualification,” added a disappointed Ndolo.
The first international fencer for team Kenya went on to call out the federation, terming the situation as unprofessional.
However, she has revealed that this will not break her determination or self-belief.
“I will go back home and focus on the next World cup in Vancouver,” she said.
Alexandra Malika Ndolo
Alexandra, a Kenyan born and bred in Germany, had announced that she would be representing Kenya starting September 2022.
“From this season on, I will be fencing for my late father’s home country Kenya,” she stated.
She had been representing the German Fencing Federation for over 15 years before she decided to represent team Kenya.
Ndolo expressed her delight stating, “To my new sports family from Team Kenya and the Kenya Fencing Federation – I can’t wait to go on this journey with all of you together!”
In May, the fencer, who is also a Polish national, accused the Kenyan government of not supporting her dream of competing at the 2024 Olympics.
However, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) responded to the allegations, revealing the athlete had been competing for Germany.
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Athlete given consent
“She later expressed her intentions to compete for Kenya at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as well as other international Fencing competitions,” said Francis Mutuku, the Secretary General of NOCK.
Again, the committee further stated that the Chairman informed her of the current situation.
This was in terms of infrastructural development and funding in Kenya.
“She made her decision with the information at hand to represent Kenya in international Fencing events,” added Mutuku.
He explained that under the International Olympic Committee guidelines, if an athlete wanted to change nationalities, they must wait for three years to be allowed to compete under a different nationality.
The Kenyan Fencing Federation approved her request to change nationality, followed by a waiver from NOC-Germany.
