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Kenyan kickboxing star Faith Ogallo was “heartbroken” after she was forced to be a spectator at the African kickboxing qualifying tournament in February after missing the weigh-in.
The 30-year-old, self-funded athlete relies on her family’s support during the Olympic cycle as she hopes to compete in her second Olympics.
Ogallo claimed that she was ultimately disqualified from competing in Senegal due to delays in paying her registration fee by the Kenya Taekwondo Federation (KTF).
“It took me some time to come to terms with the reality,” she told BBC Sport Africa.
“My family was the only one who could counsel me. I was very depressed.
“Then, slowly, they motivated me. I got back on track.”
KTF told BBC Sport Africa that the registration fee had been paid on time but Ogallo was not able to weigh in on time due to a lack of certification card, which was her responsibility.
“This was not the federation’s fault,” a statement said. “The incident that occurred was not caused by team officials.”
Ogallo said KTF had now committed to securing her sponsorship through 2028, but that she was exhausted by not being able to compete in Paris.
She is finding time to focus on other interests, including climate action.
“I had to quickly get back to advocating for climate change action and continue doing my thing,” O’Gallo said.
“I also had to go back to school and take healthcare courses and gain more social work skills.
“Besides training, I also do some extra things in the society. I have to guide, I have to encourage.”
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