Kenya in ‘danger’ of missing Olympics

Agnel may get chance to defend title

NAIROBI, April 1, (Agencies): Kenya’s Olympic chief warned Friday the east African track giants were in danger of missing Rio after politicians failed to pass a law criminalising sports doping ahead of a key deadline.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) gave Kenya until April 5 to tighten its anti-doping law and provide funding for a proposed Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), after Nairobi missed an earlier February 14 deadline.

Kenyan lawmakers on Wednesday held the preliminary reading of a bill criminalising sports doping, but then went on recess, making it impossible to pass the bill into law by the Tuesday deadline.

The bill is intended to save Kenyan athletes from an Olympics ban threatened by IAAF president Sebastian Coe.

Kip Keino, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) chairman, said he will appeal to WADA to give Kenya more time to complete the process.

“Kenya is in danger of being locked out of the Olympics,” Keino, himself a two-time Olympic 1,500 metre gold medallist, told AFP. “I am very disappointed with the attitude taken by the leaders. They don’t get the magnitude of all this — they have badly let down the youth of this country.”

France’s swimmer Yannick Agnel (third right), listens to his coach Lionel Horter (center), during a training at the French swimming championships in Montpellier,

on March 31. (AFP)

Yannick Agnel could still qualify for the Olympics after the 200 metres freestyle champion missed out following a possible touchpad blunder on Wednesday, the French swimming federation (FFN) said on Friday.

Agnel was ruled to have finished third at the French championships, which served as the Olympic trials, after he failed to touch the pad correctly in the final.

Only the first two finishers could qualify for the Rio Games and Jeremy Stravius won the race ahead of Jordan Pothain.

Stravius is almost guaranteed a place despite missing the FFN’s mark of 1:46.06 but his time 1:46.18 should be enough for the federation to include him in the preliminary selection it will unveil on Wednesday. Pothain is unlikely to be included. Agnel thought he had finished second in Montpellier but the event’s jury rejected his appeal because it is not allowed to watch TV footage.

The FFN, however, is hoping he will be able to defend his title.

“We will try to find something for him to post a good time. We have to do it,” FFN technical director Jacques Favre told Charley Hoffman tees off on the second hole during the first round of the Houston Open golf tournament on March 31, in

Humble, Texas. (AP)