Sports
Chepkirui Wins Great North Run
Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui claimed victory in the Great North Run women’s race as Britain’s Eilish McColgan finished third.
The Scot trailed Chepkirui and Vivian Cheruiyot in the final stages and, despite a late push, she failed to overhaul the Kenyan pair.
Chepkirui won in one hour nine minutes and 32 seconds, with her compatriot Cheruiyot five seconds behind and McColgan 10 seconds adrift of the winner.
“It was really nice but there was a lot of wind,” said Chepkirui, 34.
Taking part in her third Great North Run, McColgan was aiming to emulate her mother Liz by winning the race for the first time.
“It was tough conditions today,” said the 34-year-old. “We had a headwind pretty much the whole race until that final mile, so times were sort of out of the window early doors.
“We were a lot slower than we set off last year. There was no rain compared to last year and the crowds were out in force so it was a special day.”
In the men’s race, Kenya’s Alex Mutiso, 28, raced away in the latter stages to win in 1:00.52.
Belgium’s Bashir Abdi was six seconds behind in second place, with Kenya’s Abel Kipchumba – who won last year’s race – nine seconds off the winner in third.
Ben Connor was the highest-placed Briton in the men’s race as he came in fourth in 1:02.57.
Fellow Briton Sean Frame took control of the men’s wheelchair race early on and claimed victory in 49:24 as he added to his win in 2021.
Simon Lawson finished second in 52:38 and another Briton, Anton Shepherd, was third in 54:21.
“A bit of a headwind all the way but it was an amazing race,” said Frame.
“I was second last year, it didn’t bother me that much. I just focused on this year – putting on the best performance I could and just use my strengths – and it paid off.”
Great Britain’s Mel Nicholls won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:05.24, with Rita Curuccu, of Italy, second in 1:22.22.
“It was so much fun, I loved it,” said Nicholls. “The wind was crazy.
“A lot of it is uphill but it certainly felt it was all uphill.”
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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