Abayomi, Rukayat Emerge Winners in 4th Edition Of Opobo Marathon

Akintomide Abayomi and Rukayat Oladapo have emerged champions of both male and female categories of the 4th edition of Opobo Marathon that saw athletes covering 17km.

However, one of the star attractions saw the reverred Amayanabo and natural ruler of Opobo Kingdom, King Dandeson Douglas Jaja participating in the marathon.

Oladele Sunday and Clinton Amara came second and third respectively in the male category that saw more than 100 runners participating. Dorothy Jaja finished second in the female event.

The Team Lead of the organizers, Iyowuna Cookey, who spoke on the sidelines of the event, said the marathon aims to connect Opobo to the rest of the world, in addition to showcasing the tourism potentials of the area.

According to him, with Opobo marathon, people are seeing beyond the popular Nwaotam carnival, just as we are using the marathon to advocate for healthy living.

“I want to specifically thank the Amanyanabo of Opobo, King Douglas Dandeson Jaja for his full participation as well as our headline sponsors including Heritage Bank, Vino Imperium, Mental Health Orientation and Advocacy Initiative and, Opobo/Nkoro local government council,” he stressed.

King Dandeson Jaja expressed satisfaction with the marathon, saying it will promote healthy living and tourism potentials, while also calling for more participation from the international community.

The King, who joined the marathon at the starting point (Bridge 9) pledged the kingdom’s full support, saying “I thank the sponsors of this event, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we hope that the sponsorship will continue and the price money will be increased so that it will attract more people from other places.”

“I hear there are people from other places like Osun State. Osun State happens to be the home of my friends, the late Ooni and the present Ooni of Ife; they were all my friends, we need more people from other states to join us because it is important that Nigerians see themselves as one. We will like to invite people from Africa to come and join too.

“This is the home of one of the foremost Africans that fought for the

emancipation of the black man; so Opobo kingdom has a history but it’s not only sports, but we have a lot to give to the world so let us use sport as a genre for inviting tourists to Opobo and this will help the local economy,” he added