Olympics green light for Christie

SPRINTER Christie van Wyk will take part in the Olympic games in Greece.

Weeks of controversy about his participation ended with a green light following an apology from Athletics Namibia (AN) to both the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) and the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) yesterday. AN accepted responsibility for not submitting to the two bodies the reasons why Van Wyk was unable to participate in the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria.Yesterday, AN Acting President Alpha Kangueehi admitted that although they submitted other reports to the NSC, they withheld the correspondence they had with van Wyk a few days prior to the Abuja Games.Initially, Van Wyk could not go to the competition as he was not in possession of a visa.”Our officials made a mistake by not arranging a visa for him in advance, and as a result, the athlete could not go to Nigeria, although he had done his part.We admit the mistake that we did not inform the authorities about Christie’s whereabouts at that time and for also not compiling a report on that aspect,” he said.Van Wyk, who is currently a student in the United States of America, was in that country at the time of the Games.Van Wyk will now join the Namibian team in Greece early next month, but will first compete in two warm-up races elsewhere in Europe.Last week, the NSC, through its International Games Committee (IGC), decided to omit Van Wyk from the Namibian team for the 2004 Olympic Games.The reason was that the sprinter had shown no interest in taking part in athletic events held on the African continent.The 2004 Olympic Team’s Chef de Mission, Eliphas Shipanga, confirmed that Van Wyk will head to the Olympics, saying that a reasonable agreement was reached between all parties.He said although a decision was taken by the Games Committee not to let him run in Athens, they reconsidered it as it was in the best interest of the athlete.”AN Namibia took the blame for the mistake they did and we decided to reconsider the situation.Christie is going to the Olympics,” he said.Shipanga is also a member of the NCS and serves on the Games Committee.Earlier, Director of Sport at the Ministry of Basic Education Sport and Culture, Vetumbuavi Veii, said some athletes had a tendency of taking part in races overseas, but did not want to compete in Africa.He suggested that such athletes be excluded from teams taking part at the Olympics Games.”Yes, I am happy that Christie is going, sport won in the end,” said AN Secretary-General Frank Slabbert.* Meanwhile, Republikein sports reporter Boet Matthews, who was to accompany the Namibian team to the Olympics has been withdrawn by his employers, for “moral” and “ethical” reasons.It was alleged that some officials wanted the reporter, whose trip and accommodation was fully paid for by the NNOC, to report “selectively” on the Olympic games.Republikein editor, Chris Jacobie, said Matthews “was not going” and did not elaborate further.Matthews said he had no comment on the issue and was standing by the decision of his employers.John Tuerijama of the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa), has no replaced Matthews.AN accepted responsibility for not submitting to the two bodies the reasons why Van Wyk was unable to participate in the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria.Yesterday, AN Acting President Alpha Kangueehi admitted that although they submitted other reports to the NSC, they withheld the correspondence they had with van Wyk a few days prior to the Abuja Games.Initially, Van Wyk could not go to the competition as he was not in possession of a visa.”Our officials made a mistake by not arranging a visa for him in advance, and as a result, the athlete could not go to Nigeria, although he had done his part.We admit the mistake that we did not inform the authorities about Christie’s whereabouts at that time and for also not compiling a report on that aspect,” he said.Van Wyk, who is currently a student in the United States of America, was in that country at the time of the Games.Van Wyk will now join the Namibian team in Greece early next month, but will first compete in two warm-up races elsewhere in Europe.Last week, the NSC, through its International Games Committee (IGC), decided to omit Van Wyk from the Namibian team for the 2004 Olympic Games.The reason was that the sprinter had shown no interest in taking part in athletic events held on the African continent.The 2004 Olympic Team’s Chef de Mission, Eliphas Shipanga, confirmed that Van Wyk will head to the Olympics, saying that a reasonable agreement was reached between all parties.He said although a decision was taken by the Games Committee not to let him run in Athens, they reconsidered it as it was in the best interest of the athlete.”AN Namibia took the blame for the mistake they did and we decided to reconsider the situation.Christie is going to the Olympics,” he said.Shipanga is also a member of the NCS and serves on the Games Committee.Earlier, Director of Sport at the Ministry of Basic Education Sport and Culture, Vetumbuavi Veii, said some athletes had a tendency of taking part in races overseas, but did not want to compete in Africa.He suggested that such athletes be excluded from teams taking part at the Olympics Games.”Yes, I am happy that Christie is going, sport won in the end,” said AN Secretary-General Frank Slabbert.* Meanwhile, Republikein sports reporter Boet Matthews, who was to accompany the Namibian team to the Olympics has been withdrawn by his employers, for “moral” and “ethical” reasons.It was alleged that some officials wanted the reporter, whose trip and accommodation was fully paid for by the NNOC, to report “selectively” on the Olympic games.Republikein editor, Chris Jacobie, said Matthews “was not going” and did not elaborate further.Matthews said he had no comment on the issue and was standing by the decision of his employers.John Tuerijama of the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa), has no replaced Matthews.