By Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
As part of efforts to check Youth restiveness and boost sporting activities in the State, the Taraba state ministry of Youth and Sports on Saturday hold inaugural Nature’s Gift 21-km Marathon in Jalingo, the State capital.
The Marathon attracts over a 100 participating athletes who defy heavy rainfall to compete for the top prize.
Nenfort Mathias from Plateau and Charity Agbofure from Delta emerged as the winners in the male and female categories, respectively, each receiving a grand prize of N200,000.
Mathias completed the 21-kilometer race in 1 hour, 5 minutes, and 49 seconds to secure first place in the male category, while Agbofure ran a record time of 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 42 seconds to claim the top spot in the female category.
Taraba State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Joseph Joshua, in his address congratulated the participating athletes for their resilience despite the heavy rainfall.
He particularly lauded the courage of the top three runners in each category and urged them to never give up on their dreams.
Expressing his appreciation to the state governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, for the success of the maiden marathon race, Joshua encouraged the youth of Taraba State to participate massively in future events.
According to him, “as you can see, we had participating athletes from other states, and even the top runners are from Delta and Plateau states.
“We made this race open for all athletes from across the country to participate. With the success of this maiden edition, subsequent ones will be bigger and more colorful”.
The top three runners in both the male and female categories received cash prizes of N200,000, N150,000, and N100,000, respectively, while all other participating athletes were also awarded certificates of participation.