Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City
To groom local talents, the Sabongida-Ora community in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, will on January 2, 2018, play host to the maiden edition of the 7km Owan Marathon.
The marathon which is specifically organised to fish out home groom talents from the council area and the sate in general, has seen no fewer than 500 athletes registered for the event.
Organiser and sponsor of the race, Christopher Ojo, who spoke with sports writers wednesday in Benin City said beside using the race to get the youths off the street, it will also opens up local economy of the area.
He stressed that the Owan Marathon is meant to scout local talents
According to him, “Our people are sport inclined but never supported to bring the talents to global level. In essence, after this marathon, we should identify those to promote to global stage.
“Our plan is to sponsor the talents to be discovered to participate in global marathon events. This is basically a novelty competition that will scout for raw talents.”
Speaking further, Ojo who is a United States of America-based software engineer, said sports and technology is the easiest way to empower the youths.
“It is for this reason that we want competitors not to look for prize money as the driving force behind their participation, but see the ultimate goal of promoting people that will be successful in marathon races time to come.
He said to ensure the success of the race, relevant bodies, including the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has been contacted.
He also said that subsequent edition of the race would have corporate organisations, within and outside the state, as active participants.
