There is a long tradition of athletes using international sporting events to run away from their home countries and seek asylum elsewhere. Though their disappearance might puzzle some, Yaound's younger generation seems unfazed and even empathic. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. After participating in the Olympic Games, seven Cameroonian athletes have apparently 'defected'. Be a Maverick. Last week, Tsimanouskaya alleged on Instagram that her coaches signed her up for the 4 x 400 m relayan event she didnt train forbecause Belarusian sporting officials failed to submit the required doping test results for other athletes on the team. Cameroon Seeks Help to Find Missing Athletes - allAfrica.com Dozens of Hungarian athletes defected from the Games that year, most to the United States. However, he returned to Cameroon after a while and told reporters he had done so in the hope of finding better living and working conditions in China.. Japanese police found the 20-year-old weightlifter after he went missing from his hotel room in Osaka on 16 July. The first known Olympic defector was Czech gymnastics coach Marie Provaznikova, who fled her country's repressive regime by filing for asylum at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. The reason for the defection of these athletes is the same as that for all candidates of illegal immigration give, he says. All his friends share this opinion, he notes. China was next best with 88 total and 38 gold. Belarusian Sprinter Joins Long List Of Olympic Defectors - Forbes The information is used for determining when and how often users will see a certain banner. He cites the boxers Issa Hamza, Hassan Ndam Njikam and Herman Ngoudjo. It's presumed they may seek asylum in England. For the diver, it seemed politics were not the primary factor at play: He reportedly defected out of love for the daughter of an American millionaire he had met at a diving meet in Florida the previous year. But the whereabouts of the rest are a mystery. The Russian defector, Sergei Nemtsanov, was a 17-year-old diver when he disappeared from the Olympic Village during the Games.