In Paris, this track and field star crossed the finish line in the 200m final with no medal and tears in her eyes. Not from defeat, but from something far more preventable. She had never been entered in the 100m event at the Olympics, despite her qualifying times. According to reports, it was not an injury or disqualification that kept her out. It was an administrative failure by her own federation. That moment, raw and deeply public, may have marked the beginning of the end of her ties with Nigeria. So, who are we talking about? Well, it’s none other than the LSU star, Favour Ofili. Now, just months later, Ofili has filed paperwork to switch her allegiance to Turkey.
The development, first reported by Jamaican journalist Kayon Raynor, landed with extra weight because of what it followed: the recent loss of four top-tier Jamaican athletes to Turkey. With this move, the growing pattern of elite sprinters abandoning their national federations has taken on a new and pressing shape. What might have once looked like isolated discontent now feels more like a reckoning.
Raynor, citing sources within the TVJ News Centre, explained that Ofili informed the Athletics Integrity Unit of her frustrations as early as May 31. Her statement reportedly detailed multiple breakdowns in communication and management from the Nigerian Athletics Federation. The first cost her a place at the Tokyo Olympics, when authorities failed to certify her doping control tests in time. The second, more recent, denied her entry into the 100m in Paris, despite her readiness to compete. These weren’t matters of poor performance or bad luck. They were clerical and procedural missteps at the highest level of national sport.
In a further clarification, Raynor stressed that Ofili made no mention of financial incentives as the reason for her decision. Her move, he reported, was grounded in the pursuit of stability and professionalism. Not material gain. This distinction matters. It frames the athlete not as a defector, but as someone who, after repeated setbacks, has simply chosen to compete in an environment where structure is reliable and promises are met.
#BreakingNews
Nigerian sprinter @FavOfili has switched allegiance to Turkey as of May 31, 2025. According to impeccable @TvjNewscentre sources, 22-year-old Ofili has advised the @aiu_athletics of her frustration with the Nigerian Athletics Federation. pic.twitter.com/Jki58PN4L8
— Kayon Raynor (@kayraynor) June 22, 2025
Though World Athletics still lists her as a Nigerian competitor, and she remains qualified for the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo this September, the situation is rapidly evolving. In May, she set a new world record in the 150m at the Adidas Atlanta City Games, finishing in 15.85 seconds. Whether she will represent Nigeria. Or stand under a different flag. When she takes the starting blocks in Tokyo now rests not in sentiment, but in process. And for Nigeria, the consequences of that process may extend far beyond one athlete.
Jamaican Olympic track and field stars chase fortune with shock switch to Turkey
A wave of allegiance switches is shaking the foundation of Jamaican athletics. Four elite field-event athletes, Roje Stona, Rajindra Campbell, Wayne Pinnock, and Jaydon Hibbert, are reported to be the latest to commit to competing for Turkey, drawn by massive financial incentives and long-term contracts that could keep them under the Turkish flag through 2032.
According to SportsMax, Stona and Campbell, Jamaica’s first-ever Olympic medalists in men’s discus and shot put, respectively, have agreed to the switch, with Pinnock and Hibbert following suit. The move, said to be brokered by a high-profile American agent and Turkish authorities, comes with promises of at least US$ 500,000 per track and field athlete, monthly stipends, and six-figure championship bonuses. “All four athletes are said to be part of a broader initiative driven by Turkish sporting authorities,” the report noted, with eight-year contracts reportedly signed.
This isn’t Turkey’s first dance with Jamaican talent. Sprinters Jacques Harvey and Winston Barnes previously made the switch, adopting new names, Jak Ali Harvey and Emre Zafer Barnes, and setting national records in their adopted country. With Stona and Campbell breaking Olympic barriers for Jamaica, the significance of their departure reverberates louder. Yet, the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association has stated it “has neither been notified nor received a request” for any such transfers a necessary step per World Athletics rules. Still, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in sight, the groundwork for eligibility is being laid now. And Turkey appears to be playing the long game, and paying for it.
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