In an exclusive interview with AFP in Freetown, the President of the Association, Christopher John, said, “the missing athlete, Aminata Turay, was in a delegation of four (two athletes, a coach and a team doctor) but the team was knocked out of the qualifiers after losing three pool matches”.
He described Turay's disappearance as “shocking”, adding that “this will definitely hurt the country's participation in upcoming international sporting events.”
“We were expecting some good news of victory in the tournament, not news of being missing which is bound to spoil our image,” he stressed.
“I have already contacted her parents and they are also shocked over the development,” according to John.
A family source told AFP, “we had no indication that Aminata would not come back to Freetown.”
“Actually, she was very enthusiastic about the trip, which was the first time she was participating in volleyball competition abroad.”
Sierra Leone finished sixth in the final stage of the Olympic qualifiers, held in Lucerne from May 11th-16th.
MISSING
Volleyball player from Sierra Leone ‘missing’ in Switzerland
The Sierra Leone Volleyball Association announced on Wednesday that one of its two athletes at the Under 21 Beach Volleyball World Championship in Switzerland has "gone missing".
SKIING
Spain mourns Blanca Fernández Ochoa, the Olympian skier found dead in Madrid’s sierra
The body of former Spanish alpine skimedallist Blanca Fernández Ochoa was found Wednesday in a mountainous area near Madrid after days of searches for her by hundreds of police and volunteers, officials said.
The 56-year-old — won a bronze skiing for Spain in the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, becoming the country's first female Winter Olympic medallist — had been missing since she was last spotted on surveillance video at a shopping centre on August 24th.
Her car was later found at a parking lot near the start of a hiking trail in Cercedilla, a mountainous village near Madrid. The authorities said they are still investigating the cause of her death.
“Solidarity, support and human warmth have been felt these days in the mountains of Cercedilla. Security forces and many volunteers have taken part in the search for Blanca Fernández Ochoa. But nothing could be done. My affection to all her family,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted.
La solidaridad, el apoyo y el calor humano se han sentido estos días en la sierra de Cercedilla. Profesionales de las FCSE, servicios de emergencias y numerosos voluntarios se han volcado en la búsqueda de #BlancaFernándezOchoa.
Pero no pudo ser.
Mi cariño para toda su familia. pic.twitter.com/dQsrKpIe8P— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) September 4, 2019
Hundreds of police, firefighters, forest rangers and volunteers, backed by helicopters, drones and tracking dogs, had taken part in the search for Fernández Ochoa.
Her family only alerted the authorities about her disappearance on August 29th because they said it was not unusual for her to go on hikes in the area, even without her phone, according to Spanish media reports.
Police on Saturday issued an appeal on social media for help from the public in locating Fernández Ochoa along with a picture of her, which drew media attention to her disappearance.
She was well known in Spain, where she had taken part in several TV reality shows after retiring from sports.
Her older brother, Francisco Fernández Ochoa, won a gold medal for skiing in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan. He is the first and only Spaniard to have won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
There is a statue in his honour in Cercedilla.
Until 2018 the brother and sister were the only Spaniards to have won medals at a Winter Olympics.
“It is a very sad day for Spanish sports,” Spain's secretary of state for sports, Maria Jose Rienda, said in a statement.
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