TOP STARS JET IN FOR OKPEKPE

All the invited foreign athletes confirmed for Saturday’s 3rd Okpekpe 10km road race in Okpekpe, Auchi,Edo state will jet in today according to organisers of the race.

In the travel itinerary made available to the media in Lagos by former Nigeria track and field star, Yusuf Ali, who is a member of the main organising committee for the race, all the athletes except Foimi Justilin of Cameroun will arrive Lagos from as early as 5.30 this morning till a few minutes past noon.

Foimi was expected in Lagos late Tuesday evening from Douala, Cameroun while Morocco’s Lahbabi Aziz is expected to jet in at 5.30am today.

Also expected in Lagos today are three former winners of the annual Obudu international mountain race, Abebe Dinkesa, Hunegaw Yismaw and Genet Yalew who will jet in aboard an Ethiopia Airline flight.

Meanwhile Ali has assured that Saturday’s race will be very different from the two earlier editions because of the international recognition it has received.

‘As you all know the Okpekpe 10km road race is now one of the few races the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has designated as one of the leading road races around the world. In fact we have only three of such in the African continent,’began Ali,

‘The Okpekpe race is now an IAAF bronze label race and what this means is that all rules regulating the organisation of the race as layed down by the IAAF must be strictly enforced.

‘For example the number of nations that must participate in a bronze label race must be at least four and we have satisfied this requirement by having athletes from Cameroun, Morocco, Kenya and Ethiopia who have ran faster than the standard set by the IAAF for the year.

‘We are also going to ensure the specified number of doping tests is carried out after the race while in the area of prize money,the gender equality rule is also followed such that what the male winner earns is also what the opposite sex will get,’explained Ali.

The former national and African long jump champion also revealed that the granting of the bronze label status to the race means world and area records set in Okpekpe will be recognised by the IAAF.’

Ali has also revealed that the race course which starts from Apama Road and ends in Okpekpe will be closed to vehicular traffic.

The Okpekpe 10km road race is organised by Pamodzi Sports Marketing,a leader in sports marketing, sponsorship, hospitality and rights acquisition business in Nigeria in conjunction with the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and Edo state government.

The race is run over hills and sandy path and it starts in Apama road and ends in Okpekpe, a town in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. It is located about 25 km North East of Auchi.

OKPEKPE: NEW PRIZE MONEY FOR EDO INDIGENES

Organisers of the third Okpekpe 10km road race scheduled for next month in Okpekpe have announced a quantum increase in the prize money for the first nine Edo-state born finishers in the men and women race.

The respective male and female winners will go home with N500,000 each ,an increase of N400,000 while the first and second runners-up will get N300,000 and N250,000 respectively.

The ninth-placed runner will get N50,000 while the eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth and fourth-placed finishers will go home with N75,000, N100,000, N150,000 and N200,000 respectively.

Yusuf Ali, a member of the organising committee and former Africa, Commonwealth and World Universities Games long jump champion explained that the committee arrived at the decision to increase the prize money for the locals because of the need to encourage them and make them more competitive.

Okpekpe road, Edo State

‘The committee feels there is the need to make Edo-state indigenes up their game and make them more competitive. The new prize money structure will make them train more and, hopefully, we will get them to compete for the main prize of $25,000,’he said and expressed happiness that the male winner in that category in the past two editions,Lawrence Osheku has promised to improve on his performance.

‘You can seee that the guy who emerged the best Edo-state indigene in the last two editions, Lawrence (Osheku) is already talking about improving from a 34 minutes runner to 31 and this will be a significant improvement. I am sure if he is able to achieve this, he will be contesting for the top prize for Nigerian runners.We believe by next year he will be among the contestants for the $25,000 top prize,’said Ali who heaped plaudits on race owner, Mike Itemuagbor for approving the new prize money structure for Edo state indigenes.

‘He (Itemuagbor) is a blessing to the state and athletics in particular and Nigeria in general. If we have more people like him organising world class sporting events in Nigeria,the country would rank among the best in the world in any sport.

‘He has been the driving force behind the monumental success the race has achieved in the last two years culminating in the award of a bronze label status for the race,the first of such in West Africa,’remarked Ali.

The Okpekpe 10km road race is organised by Pamodzi Sports Marketing,a leader in sports marketing, sponsorship, hospitality and rights acquisition business in Nigeria in conjunction with the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and Edo state government.

The race is run over hills and sandy path and it starts in Apama road and ends in Okpekpe,a town in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. It is located about 25 km North East of Auchi.

3000 RUNNERS FOR OKPEKPE RACE

Over 3000 runners are expected to participate in next month’s 3rd Okpekpe 10km road race scheduled to hold in Okpekpe, Auchi in Edo state, organisers of the race have confirmed.

‘We are expecting over three thousand runners for this year’s race which will hold on May 16,’reveals former Nigeria track and field international, Yusuf Ali who added that interest in the race from various managers across the world have been both encouraging and overwhelming.

‘The runners are expected to submit their registration forms with medical certificate of fitness and they are expected to sign a waiver form to acknowledge among other things the risks inherent in running a 10km race unfit,’ said Ali, a former World Universities Games, African Championship and Commonwealth Games long jump champion.

Ali further revealed that the race will be conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

‘IAAF Road Race Label Regulations will also apply to the Okpekpe Road Race 2015 which has been certified by the IAAF as a Bronze Label road race,’said Ali.

The Okpekpe 10km road race is organised by Pamodzi Sports Marketing, a leader in sports marketing, sponsorship, hospitality and Rights Acquisition business in Nigeria in conjunction with the AFN and Edo state government.

The previous editions of the race were dominated by East Africans with Kenya’s Moses Masai winning the maiden edition while Ethiopia’s Teshome Asafan won the men’s title at the second edition and his country woman, Wuday Ayalew winning the women’s title.

Nesiama Give Kudos To Okpekpe Organisers

The Technical Director of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama, has poured encomiums on the organisers of the annual Okpekpe 10km Road Race.

Speaking with Journalists recently, Nesiama said for the organisers to have been consistent for the past three years, shows that they know what they were doing.

“We need to encourage our marathoners and that was the reason why we have been involving them in our programs,” Nesiama said.

“I am using this opportunity to give kudos to the organisers of the Okpekpe Road Race. They have been giving their all to organise a befitting meet for the past three years and I am happy for their efforts.”

Speaking further, he said so many organisations have been coming to the federation to organise such international meets like the Okpekpe Road Race, but they have failed to meet up with the requirements.

The Naval officer said: “Lot of organisers want to come around and have competitions, but most of them cannot meet up with the requirements needed.

“We have had issues in the past where promoters held meets and they were unable to pay the athletes even the foreign athletes and the federation was sanctioned for it.

“There was a time IAAF almost sanctioned AFN because of issues like this, but we never experienced that with the Okpekpe meet.”

He however declared that the federation will continue to give support to the organisers and any organisation that wants to organise a good meet.