Maiden edition of the Sekondi-Takoradi marathon has successfully been held as part of activities marking this year’s Christmas festivities in the Western Region.
The 21-kilometre distance marathon event which was held on Boxing Day at the Sekondi Sports Stadium had over 200 athletes participating from across Ghana and Africa.
The Sekondi-Takoradi Marathon is an initiative of Medivents Consult and Total Marketing and Tours with support from the Western Region Coordinating Council.
The event which aims at promoting tourism and sports development among the youth in the region saw William Amponsah completing first with the record of 1:02:51 for the men, while Belinda Segbor came first with a record of 1:26:26 for the females.
The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, who presented the overall prize of GHS 10,000 among other goodies to William Amponsah said the success of the event marks the beginning of promoting sports tourism in the region.
“We are grateful for partnering the Sekondi-Marathon, and it is not only important to connect communities commercially but also socially, especially through sports. For that matter, we want to use this opportunity to promote sports in the region”, he said.
The Executive Director of GNPC Foundation, Dr Dominic Eduah, justifying why GNPC joined the marathon as one of the lead sponsors indicated it fell within its mandate of youth development.
He commended the organizers for a successful event and assured of his outfit’s readiness to partner the organizers to maintain the event to enrich Christmas festivities in the region.
“It was good you added a marathon to the list of activities for this year’s event, and we are happy to support it this way for the success of the event”, he said
Dr Eduah indicated that the Foundation will add excelling participants who are at the tertiary level to the Foundation’s scholarship scheme to make sure they get an education while developing their talents.
The following is the details of the Sekondi-Takoradi Marathon;
William Amponsah completed first with the record of 1:02:51 followed by Afaylar Samuel (1:06:47), Ishmael Arthur (1:08:40), Samuel Sakyi (1:08:52) and Basit Afful (1:08:55) for the first five male athletes.
For the first five female athletes, Belinda Segbor came first with a record of 1:26:26 followed by Sherrifa Moro with 1:27:56, Babulweri Felicia (1:30:12), Angaamchaa Mercy (1:32:36) and Amanda Kotambe (1:34:19).