Kenya’s Omurwa vows to outrun Nigerian athletes as competition begins

The third MoC Grand Prix will flag off at the Yaba College of Technology yesterday with athletes from different parts of Africa in attendance.
 
Being an Olympic year, the MoC Grand Prix in Lagos is getting attention of many athletes, who want to use the event to either qualify or aid their preparation for Tokyo Olympics. It is one of the most anticipated events of the 2021 season and perhaps, the biggest Track & Field competition on Nigerian soil since 2018, when Asaba hosted the African Championships. About 700 athletes were already on ground as at yesterday.

One of the African countries, whose athletes have arrived in Lagos is Kenya, a country known for its strength in long distance races.
 
But Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa, a sprinter, who kicked off 2021 on a good note with a Personal Best of 10.29s, said yesterday he would change the narrative by beating Nigerian athletes to the 100m prize in Lagos.

Earlier this month, Omurwa ran a marginally windy 10.18s at a national competition. He will be competing in the 100m and 200m here in Lagos.
 
Omurwa spoke at a pre-event virtual press conference, where sports and entertainment brand giant, Bet King, was announced as the new lead sponsor for the third MoC Grand Prix.
 
The Chief Executive Officer of Making of Champions (MoC), Bambo Akani, thanked the sponsor for keying into the competition.

“With Bet King now on board, we are sure of delivering the best grand prix ever staged in this part of the world,” he said, assuring that results from the competition would be sent to World Athletics (WA) for ratification, just as he said the MoC was working in partnership with Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
 
On their part, officials of the sponsor promised to do more for Nigerian athletics.
 Among the athletes expected to represent Nigeria in Men’s & Women’s 100m, 200m, 400m and throws are Joy Udo-Gabriel, Emmanuel Ojeli, Jerry Jakpa and Queen Obisesan.