Get Guardian on GoogleThe West African state of Guinea on Thursday said it was scrapping its decision to withdraw its five-person team from the Olympics, a move that it had said was prompted by worries over coronavirus.
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“The government, after receiving assurances from the health authorities, is giving its agreement for our athletes to take part,” Sports Minister Sanoussy Bantama Sow said in a statement.
The move reverses a decision on Wednesday which cancelled the country’s participation in the Tokyo Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, a source close to the government in the capital Conakry had said that the decision not to send its five-person team stemmed from financial constraints.
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“The ministry cannot pay,” the source had said.
Local media also had claimed financial rather than health motives prompted the withdrawal by Guinea, which has never won a medal in 11 appearances at the Olympics.
Guinea’s five-strong team comprises Fatoumata Yarie Camara (freestyle wrestling), Mamadou Samba Bah (judo), Fatoumata Lamarana Toure and Mamadou Tahirou Bah (swimming) and Aissata Deen Conte (athletics, women’s 100m).
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