The BetKing/Third MoC Grand Prix ended in Lagos yesterday with Kenyan sprinter, Ferdinand Omanyala and Nigeria’s new kid on the bloc, Grace Nwokocha, emerging champions with sizzling performances that qualified them for the Tokyo Olympics in the men and women’s 100 metres.
The competition held at Yaba College of Technology Sports Complex, Lagos, saw Omanyala, a student at the University of Nairobi, breaking Kenyan’s National Record (NR) to qualify for the Olympics with his first race on the red tartan tracks of the stadium. He blitzed to a new NR and Meet Record (MR) of 10.01s to win his heat.
The Kenyan, a former rugby player, powered to 100m gold in 10.05 (+2.7m/s), beating defending champion, Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke, who settled for the second position but with the same time allotted to him.
While the men’s race went down to the wire, Nwokocha kept daylight between herself and the chasing pack in the women’s final, as she stormed to a Lead (WL), MR, and PB of 11.09s, a result that sees her becoming the third Nigerian woman to qualify for the Olympics in 2021. The run inspired MoC’s Joy Udo-Gabriel to a new Personal Best (PB) 10.34s, while Praise Idamadudu got in on the PB train to place third with 11.46.
Just before the commencement of the third yearly MoC Grand Prix, the organisers announced digital entertainment and sports technology company, BetKing as the lead sponsor of the event.
MoC Corporate Partnership Manager, Evans Emmanuel, said: “We are excited to have BetKing as lead sponsor for the Third MoC Grand Prix. BetKing is easily one of Nigeria’s most loved sports technology companies, and they have chosen to support the kings and queens of African athletics, as they seek qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.”
Also commenting on the sponsorship, BetKing’s Head of Products and Marketing, Ruby Chuka said: “The partnership is a great move towards acting on our commitment to strengthen our communities. We recognise 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 to 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.
