Izuchukwu Okosi
A total prize purse of over N60million will be on offer at the eighth World Athletics Elite Label Okpekpe International 10km road race this Saturday in Okpekpe near Auchi in Edo State after organisers announced an unchanged prize money outlay on the event’s website, www.okpekperoadrace.com.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn the outlay, a total of $103,000 is on offer as prize money to the top eight finishers in the men and women’s elite race with the winner in each gender category going home with $20,000 while $13,000, $9,000, $6,500 and $3,000 respectively will go to the second, third, fourth and fifth placed finishers.
Organisers also announced an unchanged prize money outlay for Nigerian runners at the race.
The first placed finishers in both the men and women race will go home with N1, 000,000 while the second to the fifth placed finishers will get N600, 000, N400, 000, N250, 000 and N150, 000 respectively.
“The prize money on offer at the Okpekpe race is clearly more than the minimum gross guaranteed prize money specified in World Athletics’ road race regulations,” said Zack Amodu, the race director who revealed that payment of prize money and bonuses is dependent upon athletes clearing the usual anti-doping procedures.
“Athletes running for the prize money on offer must also achieve a level of performance before they can redeem their respective prizes.
”For example, to qualify for the $20,000 top prize for the elite runners, the athletes must run 28:35.00 minutes or better for the men and 32:41.00 minutes for the women.
“For the Nigerian category, the winners must run 29:04.00 minutes or better for men and 34:05.01 minutes for the women’s race,” he added.
Amodu also revealed that only the top five finishers would benefit from the prize money on offer unlike in previous editions where the top eight finishers were captured.
“We are sticking strictly with World Athletics standard as specified in the new road race regulations which came into force last November,” explained Amodu.
Nigerian athletes who finish in the top five in each gender category will share in both the prize money for the elite athletes and also that reserved for Nigerians.
The Okpekpe international 10km road race is the first road race in Nigeria nay West Africa to be granted a label status by World Athletics.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
