By Jude Opara, Abuja
Kenya on Saturday reaffirmed its dominance in long distance races as the duo of Kephar Namutala and Mercy Jepkemoi won the men’s and women’s event of the Premium Trust Bank Abuja City Half Marathon respectively.
In fact it was a clean sweep for Kenya as the trio of Mamutala, Edwin kipyago and Ezekiel Chepkovomi swept the men’s top three medals. Namutala returned in a time of 1:05:14:45 to go home with the cash prize of $8000 US dollars while his compatriot Kipyago finished second in a time of 1:05:39:73 pocketing the cash prize of $6000 US dollars.
Ezekiel Chepkoromi finished third in a time of 1:06:05:09 winning the cash prize of $5000 US dollars.
However, Nigeria’s Adamu Shehu was Nigeria’s best performer as he emerged overall 4th in a time of 1:08:25:49 and won a double cash prize of N2 million Naira and $4000 US dollars for finishing in the overall top eight.
Another Nigerian, Auta Monday finished 8th on the overall standing and second in the Nigeria category in a time of 1:09:45::96 to go home with a double cash reward of $500 US dollars and N1.5 million Naira. Friday Elisha was Nigeria’s third best performer in a time of 1:10:30:52 in the men’s category.
In the Women’s category, while Kenya’s Mercy Jepkemoi won the race in a time of 1:14:53:23, the duo of Nigeria’s Shambor Blessing and Akusho Lydia made a historic feat by finishing second and third respectively in a time of 1:16:28:69 and 1:16:34:67.
In his remarks, Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko commended the organisers of the marathon, Nilayo Sport Management for always raising the bar of road races in Nigeria with a sterling organisation of the race.
“It’s quite brilliant what we are seeing here and it clearly aligns with our vision at the Sports Commission. If we take this kind of events very seriously it can give Nigeria a comparative advantage in road racing in the near future”.
Director General of the NSC, Hon. Bukola Olopade, also expressed confidence that Nigeria will soon be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to producing elite long distance runners because of their involvement in international marathon of this quality.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
