ECOWAS-Abuja marathon: Kenyans, Ethiopians dominate, claim grand prize

Kenyans and their Ethiopians counterparts dominated the much-talked-about ECOWAS-Abuja International marathon, which was held in Nigeria’s capital city on Saturday as they claimed the ultimate prizes at stake.

Harrison Wanjiru, from Kenya, won the 21km race in the men’s category as he smiled home with $10,000 (about N17 million).

ALSO READ ON SPORTING TRIBUNE : NSF: Teams Edo, Delta pick tickets in football

The defending champion and 2024 winner, Ethiopian Haftamu Gebresilase, came second, winning $5,00,0, while Nigeria’s Francis James Musa won $4,000 for coming third.

It was the same prize in the women’s category as Lydia Wamalura of Kenya, Ethiopia’s Belay Abrerash Mingewo and Patience Dalyop emerged first, second and third in that order.

And in the 5km race, 12-year-old Dagyang Sunday and 18-year-old Vivian Obadiah, both from Plateau State, North Central Nigeria, emerged as winners in the male and female, respectively, each winning $1,000 in the process. The second and third place winners in both categories were also richer, with $300 and $250.

The special guest of honour and chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, was optimistic about what Dagyang has displayed during the race; it is just a matter of time for Nigerians to catch up with their East African counterparts.

“This is a race about unity and integration and basically celebrating ECOWAS at 50. We are here to spot the talents from this race, and we’ve seen them and they will be trained and developed for the future. The technical people from the Commission (NSC) are not just here to pick these talents but to nurture and train them.

“That 12-year-old (Dagyang), if given the right training, will compete with the best in the world by the time he turns 20 and that is the reason we have to develop our local talents. The CEO of the Elite Athletes Performance and Podium Appearance Board of the NSC is here to monitor the talents.

“And I believe very soon, we’ll be challenging the East Africans in the marathon. Remember, we said we are going to be focused on what we are doing, meaning we’ve to be deliberate and intentional about it. We want to see that by next year, we can see Nigerians among the top three or top five.

“The prize money is very good, and it has brought the young and the old together. Putting more efforts into this will not only give us medals but project Nigeria to the outside world because today everybody is talking about Abuja all over the continent,” the NSC chairman said.

Director, ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre, who also doubles as chairman, ECOWAS-Abuja International Marathon, Ambassador Francis Njoaguani, said the race is not only generating the needed visibility for the West African sub-region but also providing the platform for the athletes to showcase their talents as well as winning honours.

“By all standards, this is a better-organised event compared to the last two. We’ve learnt from our mistakes in the last two editions, and we’ve improved in those areas. For now, we’ll give ourselves a pass mark. Maybe 75, not yet 90.

“We’d a lot more athletes coming in. More elite athletes have come from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, The Gambia. There are athletes from Europe, from the USA, and from Canada, and I think we are making an impact that we are expected to make from this program.

“We are generating the visibility for ECOWAS, and we’re creating opportunities for sportsmen and women across the region to showcase their talents and compete for laurels. By and large, we’re making progress,” Njoaguani told Sporting Tribune.