Qualification continues
MBABANE – Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Maxwell Jele has come out to say there is still hope for emaSwati in Paris.
Jele was responding to whether Eswatini will have representation in the upcoming Olympic Games set for July 26 to August 11, 2024, in Paris, France. “A few competitions, particularly in Athletics presented qualification opportunities. This is because the qualification criterion in athletics is time-based. Our athletes will continue to compete in other qualification events, especially those in South Africa. Bongiwe Mahlalela and Sibusiso Matsenjwa will take a brief break and recover from the African Games, and then head back to their hectic training schedules and competition events,” he said.
He added that EOCGA would assist athletes in making their dream of competing on the world’s biggest stage come true. “There are also still opportunities for qualification in swimming and boxing. We will assist these athletes to pursue their dreams of qualifying for the Olympics,” Jele said.
Standards
Jele further stated that standards for qualification have been set very high. “For instance, despite the several medals (Gold) that Ghana got, none of their athletes achieved the qualifying times, hence they have not qualified for Paris 2024,” he added.
It was earlier revealed that 13 Eswatini athletes participated in the 13th edition of the African Games held in Accra, Ghana. The athletes represented the country in five sporting codes: athletics, swimming, boxing, karate and taekwondo. Eswatini’s medal aspirations were dashed as the athletes were awarded a wooden spoon. It is worth noting that not all these sporting codes competitions were qualifiers.
However, even if no one qualifies the kingdom is guaranteed representation through universality. Universality places are given to athletes from countries that struggle to secure slots in the Olympics through normal qualification channels. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier said there were nine universality places for boxing in Paris, with five for women and four for men.
EOCGA will spend E980 000 on Olympic Games set to be hosted in Paris this year as revealed in the budget that was passed during their Annual General Meeting held in December last year’s. This is contained in the association mouth-watering E12 515 829 budget for the current financial year that began on October 1, 2023, and will end on September 30, 2024.