This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics [1].
After treating us to some flamboyant national costumes during the opening ceremony, seven Cameroon athletes decided to shock the world by disappearing [2] from the London 2012 Olympic village.
Says Kakodkar [3] said this in a blog post:
It’s a planned disappearance, involving immigration agents for sure. Drusille Ngako was the first to go missing. She is a reserve goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team. Swimmer Paul Ekane Edingue quickly followed suit. Then the boxers eliminated in preliminary rounds disappeared, one by one, from the Olympic Village. The names are given as Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adioufack, Abdon Mewoli, Blaise Yepmou Mendouo and Serge Ambomo”
[4]A Cameroonian fan at the London 2012 Olympics. Image by joncandy (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Blog Welcome to iRelate [5] goes on to say this is common practice of Cameroonian athletes and sports personalities:
What began as rumour has finally turned out to be true. Seven Cameroonian athletes who participated at the 2012 London Olympic Games have disappeared from the Olympic Village,” David Ojong, the mission head said in a message sent to the ministry. …It is not the first time Cameroonian athletes have disappeared during international sports competitions. At past Francophone and Commonwealth games as well as junior soccer competitions, several Cameroonians have quit their delegation without official consent.
CameroonOnline.org [6] gives quite some more details of why Cameroonian athletes seem to disappear at major sporting events:
Their disappearance is not only an embarrassment, but a great surprise to members of the Team Cameroon delegation and Cameroonians based in London having feasted with four of them last Friday at the Royal Garden Hotel, where a reception was organised in honour of the athletes. It should be noted that it is not the first time Cameroonian athletes are disappearing during international sports competition. At the Francophone, Commonwealth Games and junior soccer competitions, several African athletes were lured by scouts to quit their delegations without the consent of their officials for greener pasture. While a handful of them end-up competing for other countries, a greater number of them end up frustrated.
Some comments on Twitter had choice words for the seven athletes:
@Zichivhu [7]: Note to the 7 athletes from #Cameroon who’ve disappeared : life in England is no bed-of-rose. I know,I once lived there
@iBezeng [8]: #Cameroon Minister of Sports and Physical Education, needs to be hold [held] accountable for the 7 missing athletes
@nfor_edwin [9]: What will the world think of #Cameroon when #athletes start fleeing from #London2012 #OlympicVillage? That tells how well they feel at home
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics [1].