Iliya Pam Mwanta from Plateau State was the first male Nigerian athlete to cross the
line, finishing 17th overall and winning N1million.
Pam wants more
Marathon events to be organised to help Nigerian runners, he decried
the treatment of Nigerian marathoners:” Nigeria should organize more
competitions for long distance runners. Imagine that for almost five
years we have not had the National Sports Festival.
The marathon is no
longer included in the Nigerian Trials, so all these things are
discouraging,” he added. Fadekemi Olude was the first female athlete to
cross the finish line, clocking 2:55.16 to rank 12th overall. Her
compatriot Hudung Gyang Stephen was the 2nd Nigerian to reach the finish
line in 2:59.08, with Elizabeth Nuhu 3rd in 3:01.53. Fadakemi Olude
finished 4th fastest Nigerian female athlete in 2016, but turned it
around in 2017
Kenya’s Abraham Kiptum successfully retained his Access Bank Lagos City Marathon title, narrowly beating his closest challengers to be the first athlete who crossed the finish line at the Eko Atlantic. In a race spanning through 42km, Kiptum clocked 2:15:23 to take the win, proving that his win last year was not a fluke. In fact it was a Kenya 1-2-3, as Ronny Kipkoech Kiboss came in 2nd with a time of 2:15:25, while Kiprotich Kiroi was 3rd in 2:15:30. For his effort, Kiptum won the prize money of $50,000 with Kiboss and Kiroi getting $40,000 & $35,000 respectively.
Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode and some Access Bank officials with the male top 3 finishers at Lagos City Marathon
Both Kiptum and Kiboss ran a technical race, matching each other’s pace and endurance when they steered clear of the chasing pack after the first 32km which was just after the new Lekki link bridge.
In fact it was Kiptum’s longer strides towards the home straight that helped him beat Kiboss by just 2seconds, with Kiroi arriving 7 seconds later. Meanwhile in the women’s category, another Kenyan, Rodah Tanui took the win, being the first female athlete to get to the finish line clocking a time of 2:37.50.
