2023 Okpekpe Road Race Will Be First Gold-Labeled Race In Nigeria

The 2023 Okpekpe International 10km Road Race in Edo state will be the first road race in Nigeria that will be labeled gold by the World Athletics.

Ahead of the road race which is in its 9th edition, the race director, Zack Amodu, has announced that the competitors who are drawn from across the world would be mandated to wear a temporary timing chip that will be connected to their running bibs during the tournament.

According to Amodu, distance markers would also be positioned at every kilometer. He also announced that elite racers are permitted to bring their beverages and can specify which checkpoints they should be made accessible at.

The race director said, “The race number and temporary timing chip are linked to the name and finishing time such that allowing another person to compete with your number will result in disqualification of the other person and your exclusion from next year’s event.”

Premier athletes and their representatives will assemble for a technical pre-race conference the day before the competition which is set to commence on May 27, 2023.

“This is very crucial to the successful organization of the race because it is where all arrangements for the race viz-a-viz the warm-up schedule, configuration of refreshment stations, and how to reach the finish line in case of drop-out among other things are communicated to the international and local elite athletes,” Amodu stated.

He added, “We are sticking, again, with the recommendation of World Athletics that personalized bibs with names of the elite athletes will be provided for them to wear on race day.

“This will be the first gold label 10km road race to be organized in Nigeria and we are up to the task of organizing another world-class event.”