DHL, National Sports Lottery join Triathlon Championship train

The National Triathlon Championship, which will hold in Lagos from November 27 to 29 with Teslim Balogun Stadium serving as the starting and finishing point, has continued to attract corporate sponsors.   
 
The latest outfits to support the championship are courier giants, DHL, and National Sports Lottery, who will also be visible next Sunday when the athletes slug it out at the event. They are joining the likes of Indomie Noodles and Linkage Assurance, who came on board early last month.
 
President of the Nigeria Triathlon Union (NTU), Dr. Lanre Glover, who expressed his happiness with the development yesterday, said, “I believe we will organise a good competition with the kind of support we are getting from the corporate world.

“It shows that we are doing the right thing at NTU and we hope to continue in that stride.”
 
Glover, however, expressed concern over the lingering fuel crises in the country, hoping that it would subside early this week to enable athletes turn up for the event.

“I am really concerned about the fuel shortage because of the athletes coming from different parts of the country who might be hindered by fuel crises. I hope the condition improves so that we can have a good turn out at the championship,” he said.
 
Already, 18 states have confirmed their participation. They are Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers Kaduna, Bauchi, Zamfara, Gombe, Borno, Kebbi, Sokoto, Imo and the FCT, Abuja.

Four clubs have also been contacted to be part of the event, while one athlete from Britain, Chukwumbudike Aghaji have confirmed his willingness to come for the championship.

According to programme of event, the junior athletes, who are mainly from the secondary schools, will run for 2km, bike for 10km and run for one 1km, while the elite athletes will run for 4km, bike for 20km and run for 2km.
 
The road race will hold between Masha and National Stadium axis in Surulere, with the athletes expected to arrive on Friday, with the race taking place on Sunday.
 
The NTU boss also expressed happiness that more states are imbibing the sports and noted that triathlon would spread to more states before the end of next year.

“We hope that with the hosting of the championship, more states will form associations with the help of the national body,” he added.