Pamodzi Sports Marketing, organisers of the Gold Label Okpekpke International 10km Road Race, say Francis James’ first sub-31 minutes performance at this year’s edition shows their investment in road running events is yielding the desired results.
James ran 30:46 last Saturday to win his first Okpekpe race men’s title after finishing ninth last year (32:24).
The 17 year old has now ran inside 31 minutes for the second time this year after running 30:47 to win the 10km race of the Lagos international marathon in February.
Zak Amodu, Okpekpe road race director believes Nigerian elite runners will soon break into the international elite level and be eligible to compete worldwide.
‘One of the major reasons for starting the Okpekpe road race is to help develop road running culture in Nigeria and help our athletes to gain international recognition and eligibility.
‘This would be the first time a Nigerian man would run a sub-31 minutes in such a difficult terrain as the Okpekpe race and we may soon witness a Nigerian officially breaking the 30 minutes barrier,’ said Amodu.
James’ time is the fastest by a Nigerian over the 10km distance so far this year and the second fastest since Ismail Sadjo ran 30:23 in Lagos in 2022.
