Egyptian Olympic athletes given ‘fake’ Nike training kits

An Egyptian synchronized swimmer competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games has claimed she had to pay for a new, authentic sportswear with her own money after Egypt’s Olympic Committee gave its 117-strong team “fake” tracksuits.

Yomna Khallaf, 20, told Cairo Stadium Radio that “we went to the Olympic Committee, and they gave us funny things. I wear X-small but they gave me Nike gear that was size double X-large.”

She claimed on Twitter that the gear supplied was obviously not authentic.

“The bags for example have big nike logo in the front and the zippers are addidas [sic]. It’s so frustrating that we had to pay extra 2000 [Egyptian] pounds to have other proper stuff to wear so that we can look okay not even good … We’d rather wear plain white or black shirts than this [...] stuff!,” her Twitter post read.

Egypt’s Olympic Committee (EOC) confirmed on Wednesday, that the Nike sportswear they bought for the delegation members was counterfeit.

“We bought the clothing from a Nike agent. You can never tell the difference between the original and the fake ones,” EOC Chairman General Mahmoud Ahmed Ali told Ahram Online.

“All Nike products in the Egyptian Market are made in China. They all have the same logo. How can you know?”

A Nike spokesman told the Guardian in a report on Wednesday that the company was “recently made aware that the EOC chose a vendor for its athletes’ training and village wear who is alleged to have supplied counterfeit footwear and apparel bearing the Nike trademarks.

“Nike is highly concerned that if these allegations are true, the athletes will have received products that do not meet Nike’s quality standards. Nike’s authorized distributor in Egypt has sent two official communications to the EOC on this issue and no response has been received.”