Athletics
MAKING OF CHAMPIONS: BETKING UNVEILED AS LEAD SPONSOR FOR 3RD MOC GRAND PRIX!
BY PAUL AKHAGBEMHE
It’s a new dawn for athletics in Nigeria as a new sponsor was named for the 3rd annual Making of Champions (MoC) Grand Prix.
Organisers of the competition announced a digital entertainment and sports technology company BetKing as the lead sponsors of the event that held on March 30th and 31st at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria.
The 3rd MoC Grand Prix has become one of the most important fixtures on the Athletics calendar in Nigeria – the largest Annual Competition in Nigeria aside from the National Trials and has awarded millions of Naira in Prize Money to hundreds of Athletes in individual & relay events since the inaugural edition in 2018.
Athletes across the globe and in Nigeria have faced difficult times as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
BetKing’s sponsorship of the 3rd MoC Grand Prix is critical in ensuring that Nigeria’s & Africa’s best athletes have a great chance to qualify for the Olympics Games as well as the African Championships and World U20 Championships this year.
Over 900 Athletes registered for the 3rd MoC Grand Prix, more than the first two editions combined, and it featured over 30 Track & Field events across the sprints, middle distances, jumps, throws and relays.
For the first time, the meet took a continental dimension, with athletes from nine African countries including Kenya, Benin, Togo, Mali and Senegal storming Lagos in a bid to secure Olympic qualification!
Speaking on the sponsorship, MoC Corporate Partnership Manager, Evans Emmanuel said: “We are excited to announce BetKing as lead sponsor for the 3rd MoC Grand Prix. BetKing is easily one of Nigeria’s most loved sports technology company, and they have chosen to support the Kings & Queens of African Athletics as they seek qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.”
He further added that it has always been the goal of the company to help brands like BetKing create tangible connections and build brand affinity within their target audience, using sports as an enabler.
Also commenting on the sponsorship, BetKing Head of Products and Marketing, Ruby Chuka said:
“The partnership is a great move towards acting on our commitment to strengthen our communities – we recognize this event as an opportunity to support the development of sports in Nigeria and encourage our youth to engage in activities that have the potential to build our nation further.
“Supporting an event such as this enables us help Nigerian athletes who have struggled to find international standard competitions where they can hone their skills.
“We look forward to seeing athletes from the MoC Grand Prix event participate at the Olympics Games in Tokyo, and eventually stand on the podium proudly flying the Nigerian flag.
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) also partnered with MoC on the event.
As with the previous editions, all the results are ratified by the AFN and recognized globally by World Athletics for Athletes to qualify for major global championships such as the Olympics.
Athletics
Record 6000 runners register for 2nd Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run
A record 6,000 runners, local and international from across the African continent and Nigeria have registered for the second edition of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run slated for September 28, 2024, as the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Limited guns for a bronze label status for the race.
The Chief Operating Officer of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Ebidowie Oweifie, noted that the theme of this year’s edition of the Abeokuta 10km Race titled ‘For Greatness’ out is out to commemorate the birthday anniversary of the Egba paramount ruler, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo 111, the 10km Run will flag off at Iyana Oloke at 6am and finish at The Alake Palace, Abeokuta.
Kenya’s Peter Nwaniki is the men’s race defending champion at a time of 28 minutes 14 seconds, while Shamila Kipsirir also of Kenya is the women’s defending champion.
Nigeria’s race men’s defending champion is Francis James at 31minutes 08seconds, while the women’s defending champion is Patience Daylop at 36 minutes 31 seconds.
The second edition of Abeokuta10km Race will be sponsored by Lotus Bank, FEBBS Premium Water, Fatgbems Petroleum Limited and Cash Token.
Athletics
Behold, CAS statement on Tobi Amusan
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is the winner as the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS has rejected the appeals filed by World Athletics and WADA.
The decision confirms the decision taken by the World Athletics disciplinary tribunal finding that Tobi Amusan did not commit any anti-doping rule violation.
Here is the full statement of CAS.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeals filed by
World Athletics (WA) and by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision issued on 17 August 2023 (the Challenged Decision) by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) in relation to the hurdler Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Amusan (Nigeria).
Accordingly, the Challenged Decision in which the WADT considered that Tobi Amusan did not violate Rule 2.4 of the WA Anti-Doping Rules (WA ADR) and that no period of ineligibility should be imposed on the Athlete is confirmed.
The Athlete was initially charged with committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Rule 2.4 WA ADR following three alleged Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.
In their respective appeal to CAS, WA and WADA had sought the imposition of a two-year period of ineligibility. The CAS Panel held a hearing on 19 January 2024. Having deliberated, the CAS Panel has issued its decision today dismissing both appeals. The CAS Panel unanimously acknowledged that the Athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within a 12-month
period. Accordingly, the CAS Panel concluded that the Athlete did not commit an ADRV and that the Challenged Decision should be confirmed.
The reasoned award will be published by CAS unless the parties request confidentiality.
Athletics
Tobi Amusan floors WADA and World Athletics!
Nigeria’s Paris 2024 medal hopeful, Tobi Amusan has been cleared as the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Athletics.
She is therefore cleared to feature at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Amusan is the 100m hurdles world record holder.
The athlete was charged in July last year with missing three anti-doping tests in 12 months but was cleared of the offence by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the sport’s governing body, World Athletics.
The Integrity Unit of the World Athletics appealed the clearance which has now been dismissed by CAS, the final arbiter in the case.
CAS in its statement remarked that its panel “unanimously acknowledged that the athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within 12 months.”
Amusan set the world record of 12.12 seconds in the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July 2022 and went on to win the title.
She finished sixth in the world championships in Budapest last year.
World Athletics’ anti-doping rules say any athlete failing to declare their whereabouts for a doping test on three occasions over 12 months is ineligible to compete for two years.
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