Army shines at Lagos City Marathon

Athletes of the Nigerian Army have made their service proud by emerging tops in most of the sporting events at the fifth Lagos City Marathon.

The event, which also had the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, firing shots to declare the occasion open, saw the army contingent performing excellently in wresting, boxing, 42-kilometre marathon and 10-kilometre races, among other events.

Eighteen athletes from the Nigerian Army, comprising 12 males and six females, took part and excelled in track and field, judo, kickboxing and wrestling.

Buratai congratulated the athletes for their brilliant performance, which brought pride and honour to the Nigerian Army. He pledged to support more sporting activities in the service “to have a professionally responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.”

In another development, a female soldier, Lance Corporal Hannah Reuben, was among athletes that represented Nigeria at the just-concluded African Wrestling Championships in Algiers, Algeria. She competed in the 65kg category and defeated home-based Amel Hammiche 12-1 to reclaim her African title. The soldier and other medallists are billed to represent Nigeria in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.