Africa
The African Mountain Running Championships will also feature in the Obudu International Mountain Race in Nigeria.
This is sure to be an exciting event as many of the African runners have succeeded at the World Championships previously.
There are athletes of 6 different nation registered in men's event (Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt) and three in the women's race (Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria), plus other athletes from other African Countries as for sample Cameroon and Ghana.
According to the Secretary General of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Mrs. Maria Worphil, more African nations are making inquiries about travel and accommodation arrangements and expect more confirmations this week.
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",Athletics Nigeria is delighted with the response shown by African nations for this championship.
",Last year we had six nations in the men event and five in the women including the host nation, Nigeria and we are already convinced we will have more African nations this time around as we strive to make mountain running a perennial fixture in the calendar of the African Athletics Confederation,", said Worphil, a former national handball star.
Ethiopia, winner of the inaugural edition of the championship tops the list of other nations who have made inquiries about the championships and Mrs. Worphil is full of praise for Cross River Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke for providing the platform to host the rest of Africa",Our sincere thanks to Governor Imoke for not only continuing with the sponsorship of the Obudu international mountain race started by his predecessor, Donald Duke but for also expanding the scope of the event by including the African Nations mountain running championship.
",The AFN will continue to organize a perfect competition and make Nigeria proud,", she added.
Abebe Dinkesa from Ethiopia returns to defend his title from 2010 but Ondara MacDonald from Kenya is expected to feature highly having placed 6th in 2010. With European Champion Ahmed Arslan (Turkey) also in the field the event should be an outstanding spectacle of mountain running.
The women's event see Nigeria's top female runner for the last two years, Janet Dung returning to challenge for the event she won in 2009. Genet Yalew from Ethiopia may well prove to be the strongest challenger having taken 3rd place in 2010.
The WMRA are working with the LOC, NAF and AAC in preparation of a potential candidature for World Championships in 2014. ,LOC are waiting for the presence of AAC President, Hamad Kalkaba Malboum,and of NAF President, Chief Solomon Ogba.
WMRA President, Bruno Gozzelino, congratulated the governor of Cross River state, Senator Liyel Imoke who was conferred with the , Commander of the Niger (CON) award , by President Goodluck Jonathan early in week in Abuja.
Besides WMRA President, Bruno Gozzelino, thanked a lot William Archibong who is the chairperson of LOC, the person that coordinated very well all the work of LOC and have the capacity for staging next world event in future in this wonderful part of Nigeria.
The WMRA President Bruno Gozzelino and the WMRA Council member Erhan Basoglu will be present to witness further developments in mountain running.
More news also on http://athleticsnigeria.org/afn/aggregator/categories/2
Bruno Gozzelino and Bashir Hussainfor WMRA
Photos ,
by LOC:
- in front page: Abebe Dinkesa, winner 2010
- in second page: from left to right: William Archibong (Chief of LOC), Lionel Imoke (Governor of Cross River State) and Bruno Gozzelino (WMRA President),
by Patrizia Longo
- Hamad Kalkaba Malboum (AAC President) and Bruno Gozzelino (WMRA President) at IAAF Galà, 2011