MoC set for 3rd Grand Prix in Lagos, Olympics-bound athletes to compete

The third edition of Making of Champions (MoC) Grand Prix will hold on April 2 and 3 at the Yabatech Sports Complex in Lagos. It is the largest yearly athletics competition in Nigeria aside from the National Trials.

“Having endured a difficult 2020 as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, athletes in Nigeria now have something to smile about,” MoC Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bambo Akani, said yesterday during an online media parley organised by Making of Champions.

Since its inaugural edition in 2018, the MoC Grand Prix has become one of the most important events in AFN’s calendar. The athletics body, is MoC’s Technical Partner for the event, ensuring that all races are timed electronically, and all results ratified and recognised globally by World Athletics.

Akani said: “It’s good to be back. We are very glad that the MoC Grand Prix can make a return for the third edition. Obviously, this was meant to happen in 2020, but because of the Coronavirus pandemic, it wasn’t able to happen in May, then December, so we are really pleased that it can now return for Nigerian athletes in April 2021.”

He continued: “The MoC Grand Prix holds an added importance this year because it will serve as an Olympics-qualifying event and we’re looking forward to helping as many Nigerian athletes as possible qualify for the Olympics Games. We are calling on corporate sponsors across Nigeria to join in this effort to support Nigeria’s Olympics hopes, especially in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.”

According to him, about 30 track and field disciplines across the sprints, jumps, throws, hurdles and relays will feature at the 3rd MoC Grand Prix.

“The event will strictly observe the Sports Ministry’s COVID-19 Sports Code and Protocol, and a final list of invited athletes will be released after an initial one-month registration period for interested athletes has closed.

“One of the highlights of the 3rd MoC Grand Prix will be the staging of the first Mixed 4x400m Olympic Qualification attempt considering that the Mixed 4x400m (with 2 men and 2 women per team) will feature at the Olympics for the first time in Tokyo. As such, athletes from other African countries will also be invited to compete at the event, particularly relay teams vying for qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.”