Athletics

Kenya’s Namutala, Jepkemoi dominate Abuja City Half Marathon

Kenya once more proved itself as the master of long-distance races as its athletes, male and female, on Saturday, dominated Abuja City Half Marathon.

While the Kenya duo of Kephar Namutala and Edwin Kipyago emerged as first and second place winners, Ezekiel Chepkoromi came third.

While Namutala won the race in a time of 1:05:14:45 to go home with the cash prize of $8,000, his compatriot, Kipyago, finished second in a time of 1:05:39:73 to win the $6,000 and Chepkoromi, with a time of 1:06:05:09, won $5,000.

Adamu Shehu emerged as Nigeria’s best performance as the overall 4th in a time of 1:08:25:49 and won a double cash prize of N2 million and $4,000 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 and N1.5 million, while 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, Kenya’s Mercy Jepkemoi won the race in a time of 1:14:53:23 while Nigeria’s duo of 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.

Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, commended the race’s organisers, Nilayo Sport Management, for continually raising the bar of road races in Nigeria.

Dikko said, “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 event very seriously, it can give Nigeria a comparative advantage in road racing in the near future”.

NSC DG, Bukola Olopade, in his remarks, 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 the quality of the marathon

“The feasibility that the organisers, Nilayo Sports, are giving to long-distance running in Nigeria is highly commended, and the Premium Trust Bank Abuja City marathon is another success story that will be remembered for a long time.”

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