Coach Urges Schools To Embrace Long-Distance Races

Female wrestlers in contest

Anational coach of long
distance races, Stephen Nuhu, urged schools to embrace long-distance races as a way of developing the event.
Nuhu told newsmen that encouraging students at the grassroots would also improve the growth of the event in the country.
He added that schools in the northern part of the country had been at the forefront of discovering talents for the country.
“We are majorly into long distance races in the northern part of the country because of the high altitude; you can easily find them there.
“It does not stop other states from discovering talents for the country in that event.
“Students should be encouraged to take up the event because it is the cheapest, we also need to  tell the world that we are blessed with talents,” he said.
Tidesports reports that Alex Korio from Kenya came top in the male category of the 3rd edition of the Edo State Government initiated Okpekpe 10-km Road Race held on May 16, 2015 in the town while Tanui Nkale, also from Kenya, came top in the female category of the competition.
Also on February 6, 2016, Abraham Kipton from Kenya came first in the 42.1km Access Bank Lagos City Marathon held in Lagos and jointly organised by the Lagos State government and Access Bank Plc.
Nuhu, however, frowned at the lack of continuous training of up-and-coming athletes after discovering most of them, noting that more of them should be encouraged to participate at international events.
“Sincerely, most of the athletes discovered get discouraged because if they train and there are no competitions where they can feature, they start withdrawing,” he said.
He also appealed to sponsors to help finance the programmes of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to ensure athletes were meaningfully engaged, saying that when athletes were engaged in sports, they would keep off vices.