The country’s athletes have set their sights on competing keenly with their East African counterparts as the Okpekpe 10km road race takes centre stage in Okpekpe, Etsako East Local Government of Edo State on Saturday. The organisers are targeting a Gold Label after this year’s race and some top athletes from Nigeria believe this will make them perform better running side-by-side some of the top distance runners across the world. Speaking on Thursday, Emmanuel Gyan, husband of Deborah Pam, another top athlete, said they were ready for the race. “Although we are going to be competing with some of the best in the world, it will only make us better. Head of the race secretariat Mercy Etukudo said this year’s event would be explosive as only the best athletes over the 10km distance have been assembled for the race.

Source: Punch May 24, 2019 03:43 UTC