ISAAC MAKWALA WAS denied entry to London Stadium having been withdrawn from the IAAF World Championships 400m final on Tuesday due to illness, with Botswana National Sports Commission chief executive Falcon Sedimo ruing a lack of formal communication over the ruling.
Makwala had been hoping to dethrone reigning World and Olympic champion, and world-record holder Wayde van Niekerk, but was unable to take his place on the starting blocks ”due to a medical condition on the instruction of the IAAF medical delegate”.
Van Niekerk succesfully defended his title.
30-year-old Makwala was pulled out of his 200m heat on Monday due to being unwell, with the Local Organising Committee later stating an outbreak of gastroenteritis had hit one of the official team hotels.
Public Health England (PHE) revealed approximately 30 people had reported illness and two cases had been confirmed as norovirus by laboratory testing, adding that ”most people make a full recovery within one or two days, without treatment”.
With organisers seemingly sticking to that timeframe, Makwala was filmed being denied entry to London Stadium by officials on Tuesday.
Sedimo criticised the lack of communication from the IAAF, revealing no clarification had been provided with the final just hours away.
“Isaac has been denied entry to the stadium, he’s been taken back to the hotel where the team is staying,” Sedimo said on the BBC.
“Regrettably, we don’t have any official communication from the IAAF pointing to the reasons that have led to Makwala being barred from the 400 metres final for men.
“I believe we the reserve the right to appeal and so does the athlete. In fact, this afternoon we wrote to the IAAF Medical Commission seeking … clarity, which we have not got up to now.
“There’s been no formal communication. It would appear that it’s a generalised assumption given the fact that other athletes that stayed in the hotel had a viral attack, it could be possible that one of the symptoms – and only one – could be connected to norovirus.
“I met Makwala this morning before 11am, I also met him this afternoon and indications were he was raring to go.
“For us, the important thing that ought to have been done is that there should have been formal communication to the athletics federation. There hasn’t been any such communication, we only had benefit from the media relating to Makwala not being available to participating.”
Botswana medical team member Simon O’Brien provided the BBC with an email he claimed to have received from the IAAF at 8.27pm local time outlining its reasons for Makwala’s exclusion, which amounted to the imposition of a 48-hour quarantine period following a medical examination conducted in the warm-up medical centre on Monday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Makwala was quoted as telling Mmegi: “I feel fine, no tests were conducted on me. I’m still in the dark whether I am going to run tonight.”
The Botswanan’s only remaining chance for a medal will come in the 4x400m relay, with the first round taking place one day before Sunday’s final.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
