The top-performing Nigerian runner at the 10th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Gyany Nyango, has declared his intention to break the international stronghold on the race, setting his sights on a podium finish in 2026.
Nyango, who crossed the finish line in 2:25:40, secured eighth place overall and the coveted title of the first Nigerian finisher, earning a N2 million prize.
While celebrating his achievement, a significant improvement from his previous attempts, he expressed a desire to see more local athletes challenging for the top spots.
Nyango, reflecting on his performance at the recently concluded Marathon expressed joy and determination after finishing among the top 10.
“Honestly, I am overjoyed because this is my first time being among the first 10,” Nyango shared. “This is the third year I am competing in this race, and I have been training so hard to be among the elite athletes.”
While proud of his accomplishment, Nyango also voiced his dissatisfaction with the dominance of international runners in the race. “I’m not happy that other nationals are winning the race here.
Seriously, they don’t have two heads or three legs. We are all the same. But it’s because they train hard, and that is why they are winning,” he said.
Looking ahead, Nyango set his sights on an even higher goal for the next edition of the marathon. “My next target is to be among the top three overall in the 2026 edition of the race,” he declared.
The marathon, which saw Kenyan Edwin Kibet take first place with a time of 2:12:10, followed by his compatriots Kipygon Hehemiah and Bernard Sang, underscored the dominance of East African runners.
Kibet himself emphasised the importance of rigorous training, echoing Nyango’s belief that hard work is the key to success.”You have to train hard, and when you do that, when you go to competitions, then it becomes easy,” he said. “For me to achieve this, I trained twice a day. Morning and evening.”
The Kenyan athlete completed the 42-kilometre race in a time of 2:12:10, finishing ahead of compatriots Kipygon Hehemiah and Bernard Sang who secured second and third places in times of 2:16:35 and 2:17:15, respectively.
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