……….Deji of Akure promises bigger edition in 2027
The Chairman of the Steering Committee for the 2026 Ulefunta Festival, Olu Adekunle Ajanaku, has said the Ulefunta Festival Marathon is designed to project the festival beyond Ondo State while providing a platform to discover and develop a new generation of athletes.
Ajanaku stated this after the 15-kilometre marathon, which formed part of activities marking the week-long Ulefunta Festival in Akure.
He said the marathon was organised to complement the traditional Owa Oropoto Festival, promote peace and unity among youths and sports enthusiasts, and provide an avenue for discovering sporting talents.
According to him, the competition was thrown open for online registration and attracted 48 participants from different parts of the country, including Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi and Osun states, as well as various local government areas of Ondo State.
He said the participation of runners from outside the state was a deliberate effort to give the festival wider visibility and attract more sponsorship.
Ajanaku disclosed that the organisers would work with the Ondo State Sports Council to identify promising young athletes from the competition and provide them with opportunities to develop their talents.
“We will hand them over to the Ondo State Sports Council to look at them, especially the young ones, to see how they can get coaches for them to participate in other marathon races like the Lagos Classic, Warri and Okpekpe in Edo State,” he said.
He said the organisers would also improve on traffic control and route management in the next edition, adding that early sensitisation would be carried out to attract more participants.
Ajanaku further said plans were underway to register the marathon with relevant sporting authorities, particularly the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, to give it wider recognition.
The Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi who commended all 48 participants for completing the 15-kilometre race, announced a cash reward of ₦10,000 for each participant.
The monarch described the first edition as challenging but expressed optimism that the competition would become bigger and more attractive in subsequent years.
He said the 2027 edition would be “grand,” while praying for the continued safety and wellbeing of the youths.
The Deji also thanked the organisers and participants for contributing to the success of the event, urging them to look forward to a bigger edition next year.
In the men’s category, Adekunle Segun from Ekiti State emerged winner, while Adetiba Abiodun and Mohammed Ayomide finished second and third respectively.
Arinde Miracle from Kwara State won the women’s category, with Idowu Happiness and Bako Gift taking second and third positions respectively.
The men’s winner, Segun, said he had prepared for the race for about two months, training morning and evening in order to finish among the leading runners.
The women’s winner, Miracle, expressed delight over her victory and said she hoped to continue training until she became a world champion.
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