TheCable

Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sports development, says Nigerians performances at the annual Access Bank Lagos City Marathon will improve once the country’s high-performance centres commence full operations.

The minister, who spoke at the 7th edition of the annual race in Lagos on Saturday, said the ministry and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) would synergise to ensure that Nigerians become more competitive in long-distance races.

“We want to ensure that Nigerians do not just make up the numbers in long distance races but also enjoy podium finish and we are reviving some of the programmes that will make this happen,” he said.

“Already we have high performance centres in Pankshin, Plateau State and another one in Taraba State. Hopefully in the next few editions of this marathon, we would have a Nigerian clean sweep of the podium places.”

Dare also tasked companies in Nigeria to follow the lead of the Lagos marathon sponsors by investing in sports.

“I will be happy to see other states replicate this event and I can assure you that the Sports Ministry will key into this,” he added.

Ethiopia’s Geleta Ulfata won the men’s race in the 42km marathon to earn $30,000 while Kenyan duo of David Barmasai and Emmanuel Naibei finished second and third to win $20,000 and $15,000 respectively.

In the women’s category, Ethiopia’s Diagne Siranesh Yirga and Alemenseh Ginta finished first and second, while Kenya’s Naomi Maiyo finished third — with all the trio earning the same amount as their male counterparts.

Babajide, Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state governor; Femi Hamzat, his deputy, Philip Shuaibu, Edo state deputy governor; Iyabo Awosika, chairman of Access Bank, were among the prominent persons that attended the one-day event.