7 Olympic Athletes Go Missing

  • 12 years ago
7 Olympic Athletes Go Missing - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.

Seven athletes from Cameroon have been reported missing in the 2012 London Olympics. Officials admitted that the entire boxing team, 5 in total, a female football goalkeeper and a swimmer are suspected to have left the Olympic Village to stay in Europe for economic purposes. As of yet, the missing group has not violated any laws, as their visas permit them to stay in the United Kingdom for the entire duration of this year's Olympic games. According to The Independent, “None are believed to have yet applied for asylum in the UK”. While all of the group’s personal belongings seem to be missing as well, it has been suggested that they could be visiting friends or simply gone sightseeing.

Missing athletes from international games is not that uncommon. Back in 2007, two Cuban athletes were granted asylum in Brazil. According to BBC, the handball player and cyclist were allowed to “work in Brazil, to open bank accounts and to apply for Brazilian citizenship after six years”. It is believed that they abandoned the Pan-American games for better financial opportunities.

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