Kenyan Fencer and Olympic Champion Alexandra Ndolo has announced that she will not participate in the upcoming World Cup event in Italy after the Kenyan Federation reportedly failed to enroll her in the competition.
In a statement released on Friday, Ndolo termed the move as unprofessionalism, warning that she risked dropping from the top 16 fencers as a result of the government's inaction.
According to the world champion, she requested the Kenyan Federation to register her in the competition and make hotel reservations for her team a few weeks before the tournament.
However, upon arrival in Italy on Thursday, she was shocked to discover that her name was not enrolled in the tourney.
"Yesterday I faced a situation I have never experienced in 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 lamented.
"I had asked my new Kenyan federation weeks ago to enroll me and asked for hotel reservations for my coach, physio and me. Even if I had insisted on reserving the hotel myself (I had done it all of last season), I could not have enrolled in the competition myself. This can only be done by federations, not individual athletes."
Following the incident, Ndolo stated that she would not be able to rack up points to improve her overall global ranking.
"This level of unprofessionalism is in stark contrast to anything I stand for. Months of practice for nothing. But this will not break my determination or self-belief! I will go back home and focus on the next World Cup in Vancouver," she added.
The incident marks the second time that the fencer has raised concerns about the government's failure to honour its promises to athletes.
In May 2023, she faulted the government for not financing her to represent Kenya in the Paris Olympic Champions event.
In response, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK)stated that the government could not release funds due to a pending process that was yet to be approved after Ndolo renounced her German citizenship for Kenya.
Ndolo, who previously played for Germany, expressed interest in flying Kenya's flag in September 2022. According to NOCK, the Olympic guidelines allow athletes to compete three years after changing nationalities.
