Athletics
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge retains men’s marathon gold
Eliud Kipchoge became only the third man to win consecutive marathon golds at the Olympics on Sunday (Aug 8), as he got the 16th and final day of full competition at the Tokyo Games off to an early and electric start.
The Kenyan put in a commanding performance under challenging circumstances in Sapporo to cover the 42.195km in 2hr 8min 38sec and cement his place among the all-time greats of the sport.
Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands took the silver and Belgium’s Bashir Abdi claimed the bronze.
Kipchoge’s winning margin of 1min 20sec was the biggest since Frank Shorter’s win in the 1972 Munich Games.
“I was really happy, I can’t describe it,” Kipchoge said of his feelings as he crossed the finish line holding up two fingers to signify his two golds.
“I think I fulfilled the legacy by winning the marathon for the second time. That’s my total happiness, my inspiration for the next generation.”
He also expressed his appreciation that organisers could make the Olympics happen as the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It was really hard last year, it (Olympic Games) was postponed. I am happy for the local organising committee who made this race happen. It is a sign that shows the world we are heading in the right direction – we are on the right transition to a normal life,” he said.
“Congratulations to them… they made this Olympics happen… It means a lot to me.”
The 36-year-old’s victory was his 13th win in the 15 marathons he has raced since 2013.
He joins Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila (1960 and 1964) and East Germany’s Waldemar Cierpinski (1976 and 1980) as the only runners to win back-to-back gold medals on the Olympic stage.
The world record holder has now won four Olympic medals overall, having also taken silver in 2008 and bronze in 2004 in the 5,000m.
Kipchoge showed why he was the man to beat going into Sunday’s race when he took full control as he pushed ahead of the pack after the 30km mark.
By the 35km stage, he had jumped out to a lead of 27 seconds from a virtual tie 5km earlier and extended it to 1:17 by 40km.
Kipchoge, who in 2019 became the first man to break man to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon in a specially-arranged race that does not count for record purposes, had been aiming for the gold to shore up his status as the greatest marathon runner of all time.
“My real excitement in Tokyo is no longer about competing at an Olympic Games, it is about making a legacy,” he told the Olympics official website before the race.
Unlike in Tokyo, where stringent Covid-19 restrictions have forced the Games to be held behind closed doors, thousands of spectators lined the streets of Sapporo, the host city of the 1972 Winter Olympics that lies more than 800km north of the capital.
The organisers’ decision to move the race to the city, however, has backfired, with unseasonally hot and humid temperatures there making for gruelling conditions for the runners.
Sunday’s race saw 106 runners representing 45 countries and the Olympic Refugee Team set off from the Odori Park in the heart of Sapporo in temperatures of around 27 deg C and a stamina-sapping 80 per cent humidity.
Several of the major names dropped out amid the humid and windy conditions.
World champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, compatriot and 2020 London Marathon winner Shura Kitata, 2012 Olympic gold medallist Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto were among 29 runners who exited the race early.
“The weather was better than the last few days but still, it’s humid and it’s a strange feeling, you think it’s cold but at the same time you lose water very quickly and that’s why I got a cramp,” said bronze-medal winner Abdi, who had to fight through a cramp in his right hamstring near the end of the race.
– AFP, Reuters
BY DAPO SOTUMINU
Nigeria’s Francis James and Blessing Shambaz yesterday emerged winners of the 2nd Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Race to go home with the winners prize money of $1,000 in a race that was officially flagged off by the First vice president of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Chief Solomon Ogba, and supported by Mr. Nadin Khan, the president of the World Ultra Running.
James won the men’s race finishing at 30minutes 11seconds to beat all opponents to consolidate on his victory in Abuja when he finished second best in the half marathon held in the Federal Capital Territory middle of the year.
James also emerged the Nigeria’s winner of the World class half marathon.
It will be recalled that James at his last major race in Abuja finished second place in a national half marathon race. He stressed that he used that race to prepare for the Lotus Bank Abeokuta Race and he was very happy winning the race.
He stressed that, the victory at Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10m Race has given him the confidence to do better in others races coming up in Nigeria and its an indication, that he’s very close to making history for Nigeria in subsequent marathon races. He added that, Nigerian runners will pull surprise in the others races not minding the attendance of the East Africans.
In second place for the men’s race is Gyang Raymond at a time of 30 minutes 14 seconds. Gyang got $750 for his effort. While the third place winner is Gyang David Boyi at 30 minutes 54 seconds. Boyi got a cash prize of $500.
In the women 10km race, the runners up that placed second was Daylop Patience at a time of 36minutes 98.28seconds to keep her position in last year’s edition. She got $750.
Third place winner is Agofure Charity at 37minutes 88 seconds.She got $500.
The overall 10km also saw the race by special athletes.
The route of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta Race wore a very active look this morning with the active presence of Febbs table water, a part sponsor of the event.
The volunteers on each points on the route all had Febbs Water on their hands ready to hand them over the runners. The organisers decorated all the runners that crossed the finish line with gold medals, this added to the fanfare and celebrations at the Alake Palace finish line of the race.
The Diamond League will increase its prize money to more than $9 million in 2025, the highest in the history of the series, the organisers have said.
Athletes will make a total of $18 million, with top athletes also receiving promotional fees. Male and female athletes will be paid at the same rate, the Diamond League said in a statement.
“The new total is almost a third higher than the sum paid during the pandemic-affected period of 2021-2024,” the statement said, adding that more will be invested in the athletes’ travel, transport, accommodation, medical and physio services.
Each of the 14 Diamond League meets of the 2025 regular season, scheduled to kick off in April, will award a total prize money of $500,000, with the final in August offering $2.24 million.
“The total prize money per discipline will be between $30,000 and $50,000 at the series meetings and between $60,000 and $100,000 at the final,” the statement added.
The Diamond League’s 2024 season concluded in Brussels last week, with Zurich set to host the 2025 final.
The news comes after World Athletics ended a 128-year tradition by paying Olympic champions at the Paris Games $50,000 each and as rival track events try to muscle in on the circuit long seen as the standard-bearer for professional athletics.
Retired American sprinting great Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track will offer prize money ranging from $100,000 for the winner to $10,000 for the eighth-place finisher at each of four “slams” when the league launches next year.
It will distribute a total of $12.6 million in prize money in 2025.
“In a league of our own,” Grand Slam Track wrote in a post on X, opens new tab on Wednesday, with a breakdown of their prize money.
-Reuters
A record 6,000 runners, local and international from across the African continent and Nigeria have registered for the second edition of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run slated for September 28, 2024, as the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Limited guns for a bronze label status for the race.
The Chief Operating Officer of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Ebidowie Oweifie, noted that the theme of this year’s edition of the Abeokuta 10km Race titled ‘For Greatness’ out is out to commemorate the birthday anniversary of the Egba paramount ruler, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo 111, the 10km Run will flag off at Iyana Oloke at 6am and finish at The Alake Palace, Abeokuta.
Kenya’s Peter Nwaniki is the men’s race defending champion at a time of 28 minutes 14 seconds, while Shamila Kipsirir also of Kenya is the women’s defending champion.
Nigeria’s race men’s defending champion is Francis James at 31minutes 08seconds, while the women’s defending champion is Patience Daylop at 36 minutes 31 seconds.
The second edition of Abeokuta10km Race will be sponsored by Lotus Bank, FEBBS Premium Water, Fatgbems Petroleum Limited and Cash Token.
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