Top Heavyweights in Sports grace Enugu City International Marathon World Press Conference

The stage is now finally set for the highly anticipated World Athletics certified Enugu City International Marathon billed for Saturday may 3rd 2025 in the coal city of Enugu state after a world press conference heralding the event was held on Friday.

The Enugu state Commissioner for Sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu Jr said the state Government is excited about the race on Saturday and are already looking forward to its sustainability beyond this year’s edition.

” I want to announce that because of the potential and economic viability of this race the state Governor, his Excellency Peter Mbah has approved that the Enugu city international marathon will be an annual event. This is going to be a continuous process and we know that the economy of our state will be boosted with such an international event”.

The Commissioner also explained why the state decided to choose a marathon, instead of another sporting event.

” We decided to do a marathon because the road race involves many athletes at the same time and you can get the youths engaged more with such a sporting event”.

On her part, the Managing Director of Nilayo Sports Management Company, the Consultants of the Race, Mrs Yetunde Olopade, commends the doggedness and investment of the Enugu state Government in Sports.

” Governor Peter Mbah has continually shown that he has a road map for sports development in the state when you take a look at all the investments he is putting into sports to make sure the state is a major power house when it comes to sports Development in Nigeria”, she said.

The calibre of top dignitaries at the Press Conference further underscores the profile of the race, which is a first of its kind in the history of South Eastern Nigeria.

Gracing the Press Conference on Friday include; the Commissioner of Sports in Enugu state, Lloyd Ekweremadu Jr, the M.D of Nilayo Sports Management Company, Mrs Yetunde Olopade, the Vice President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Chief Solomon Ogba, the President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, Tony Okowa, Representative of World Athletics, the Technical Director of the Race and former Nigeria top athlete, Yusuf Ali and legendary Movie star Nkem Owo amongst others.

The Enugu city international Marathon is expected to witness the participation of over 3000 athletes from and outside the country in both the 42km race and the 10km race.

Meanwhile the State Governor Peter Mbah will be among the thousands of runners that will participate in the race as he will be running the 10km race from start to finish.

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has lauded Team Nigeria’s dominant opening performance at the 2025 Senior African Wrestling Championships in Casablanca, Morocco, where the contingent clinched four gold medals on Day One of the tournament.

Despite the withdrawal of wrestler Mercy Adekuoroye due to illness, the Nigerian contingent produced a flawless display, with all four remaining athletes winning their respective finals to secure gold for the country.

Christianah Ogunsanya (53kg), Esther Kolawole (62kg), Hannah Reuben (68kg), and Damola Ojo (76kg) delivered a clean sweep of victories, propelling Nigeria to the top of the medal standings on the opening day.

Ogunsanya set the tone early with a commanding run, defeating Morocco’s Zineb Chabki 10-0 in the semifinal before clinching gold. 

Kolawole followed with an equally dominant 10-0 win over Senegal’s Safietou Goudialy in the final. 

Reuben’s 11-0 demolition of Egypt’s Mariam Mesbah showcased her power and technical superiority, while Ojo wrapped up the evening with a confident performance in the 76kg category.

Director General of the NSC, Hon. Bukola Olopade, expressed his delight with the team’s performance and commended the athletes for their resilience and excellence.

“What our wrestlers are doing in Casablanca is nothing short of phenomenal. To win four golds from four finals is a clear demonstration of Nigeria’s sustained pedigree in wrestling. We are proud of the athletes, the coaching crew, and the entire federation for this outstanding achievement,” said Olopade. “This is just the beginning, and we are confident more medals will come.”

The championship continues until May 4 at the  Complexe Sportif Mohammed V Casablanca, Morocco, as team Nigeria aims to build on its early momentum and maintain its position at the top of the leaderboard.

Kenyan Runner Koros Ken  has emerged the winner of the first edition of the Enugu City International Marathon, going home with 15,000 Dollars as Prize Money, in a total kenyan dominance in both the male and female categories.

Steve Rasway also of Kenya finished  second with a prize money of 10,000 dollars while his country man Bernard Sang went home with 5000 dollars for finishing third.

It was a similar story in the women category when  Shauline chepkiru koech of Kenya  won the first prize.

Nigerian runner Davou Ezekiel from Jos finished first amongst the Nigerian runners winning the three million Naira Prize money allotted for the indigenous athletes.

The Marathon which lived up to the pre-event hype with the turn out of runners, fans and the level of organisation, had all the spices of a world class race.

Governor Peter Mbah who had colour to the event by participating in the 10km race said the race exceeds every expectation and he is very satisfied with both the participation and competition of the race.

” This race has shown us the power of Sports and what sports can do in galvanising our youth. I am really impressed with what i have  seen and it has only motivated us as a state to put more efforts to make the race better and bigger next year”.

Over one hundred International Elite Athletes participated in the race with thousands of Nigerian   runners also taking part and making history as the maiden Edition of the Enugu City International marathon ended in grand style.