The nation’s elite long-distance athletes are consumed with anxiety and high anticipation as they remain on their marks in endless wait for the starter’s gun to launch their cherished dreams.
That is the narrative of the internationally acclaimed Accra Milo Marathon which has been in abeyance for the past seven years.
Since the 29th edition in 2016, both patrons and organisers of the Accra Milo Marathon have been left in the cold with no clue of a comeback anytime soon. In its stead have emerged a few marathon competitions to fill the void, but none is yet to match the prestige associated with the Dansoman-inspired enterprise.
At its peak, the famous Accra Milo Marathon produced the nation’s best long-distance runners for international competitions and was worth the time of some political elite, including Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor and John Evans Atta Mills, both of whom had the honour of firing the starter’s gun at various points in time.
Currently, the same race that brought Accra to a standstill in a blaze of glory has seemingly vanished into obscurity as if it never existed, leaving the nation’s top long-distance runners gripped by a mix of excitement and anxiety as they await another resounding crack of the starter’s pistol, which has been absent from their lives.
Rich legacy
But the good news is that, Dansoman Keep Fit Club, organisers of the event, has resolved not to let the late Nii Ayikai Adjin-Tettey’s legacy die with him. Knowing the significance of the competition, some top executives of the club hinted the Daily Graphic that they had been working behind the scenes in a frantic bid to revive the most prestigious mass sports event in the country.
Suddenly, the cloud of despondency began to clear when they realised that there was light at the end of the tunnel after a fruitless struggle for sponsorship to revive this national pastime for many a Ghanaian. Unknown to many, the organisers had been locked up in talks with the perennial headline sponsor, Nestle Ghana Limited, in between time but to no avail.
The hitherto enthusiastic Nestle Ghana Limited, producers of Milo beverage, sank so much into the organisation of the event for years but now seems to have a new policy direction quite different from sports promotion, hence the sudden adamancy. However, there is still room for a possible comeback anytime the multi-national business entity decides to renew its longstanding romance with the Accra Milo Marathon, whose champions featured prominently in the renowned Amsterdam Marathon in Holland back-to-back under the auspices of the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM).
Huge vacuum
In the interim, a huge vacuum has been created for potential sponsors to fill as soon as possible to save Ghana athletics from dying prematurely. The banking sector, oil and gas firms such as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ghana National Gas Company Limited, Tullow Oil Plc, betting companies and other investors can easily step in to keep the dream alive and cut a slice of history as well.
To say the Accra Milo Marathon had a rich history is an understatement as it became so popular to the extent of attracting runners from across Africa, including Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Nigeria and Mauritania, as well as Europe. The list also included members of the diplomatic corps of the various embassies and the American Peace Corps working in the sub-region.
In short, the Accra Milo Marathon was more or less a national festival which appealed to people of all ages and classes, hence the massive yearning for its immediate return. From take-off at The Point, near the Nungua Barrier, in the early hours of the day to the Carl Reindorf Park at Dansoman, the determined athletes usually held Accra spellbound as most city dwellers lined the streets to cheer them on.
The whole conversation about the revival of the event was provoked by the nation’s uninspiring showing at the recent World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where Team Ghana was saddled with injuries instead of medals. In the end, the sprint-dominated tiny squad failed to impress in the preferred 200 metres, while pulling out of the men’s 4×100 metres at the eleventh hour due to injuries to two key members of the relay team: James Dadzie and Joseph Paul Amoah.
Revival of athletics
The setback spontaneously set tongues wagging again over yet another heartbreak in a major international competition as athletics enthusiasts sought a solution to curb the disturbing trend.
While one school of thought prescribed the revival of athletics in senior high schools to unearth and groom more talents for the future, another believed the revival of a high-profile competition such as the Milo Marathon could unveil some talents for the various long and middle-distance events.
Gone are the days when household names such as Fred Adongo and Alhaji Alhassan, Alfred Amegashie, Emmanuel Amo, Stephen Manu, David Zigah, Anthony Yin, and Godwin Adukpo, among others, made the 42.2km race tick. Interestingly, most of the winners belonged to the security services, creating a healthy rivalry among them prior to the annual Security Services Sports Association (SESSA) Games at the time.
Amegashie, a police officer, made history as the first winner of the Accra Milo Marathon in 1987, before Adongo burst onto the scene the following year. The five subsequent editions were shared between Adongo and Amo, before Alhassan, Zigah, Adukpo, Manu and the rest could also cut a slice of history in later years.
Malik Yakubu is on record to have won the thrilling last edition in 2016, graced by the then Youth and Sports Minister, Nii Lante Vanderpuye.
Apart from the Amsterdam Marathon, male champions Adongo, Alhassan, Amo, Adukpo, and Zigah, as well as female champions such as Millicent Boadi and Gladys Adomah, for instance, represented the nation in some international marathon competitions in the US, Europe and other parts of the world as well.
The general appeal aside, the annual affair offered handsome cash prizes, products from sponsors and running shoes for the deserving winners. Of course, female athletes and U-15 boys (15km) were not left out of the carnival.
All other things being equal, the trigger might soon be pulled to get anxious athletes such as William Amponsah and other long-distance runners off the blocks to restore old memories and relive their dreams.
History
The Accra Marathon (which later became the Accra Milo Marathon) was introduced by the Dansoman Keep Fit Club led by the late Carl Reindorf, former Deputy Minister of Information in the 2nd Republic, the late Sam Nelson (then Deputy Secretary of Youth & Sports under the PNDC government), Nii Ayikai Adjin-Tettey (then retired administrator of the National Sports Council), and 14 other members.
The initial aim of the organisers, according to the late Adjin-Tettey, was to inculcate the habit of distant running in the youth as part of lifestyle change attitude – purely for health reasons.
The first edition was held in 1986 with 107 athletes. It was sponsored by the State Insurance Company Limited (now SIC Insurance).
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), then under the leadership of the late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills as Commissioner, provided transport for the athletes and organisers.
Below are some of the previous winners.
1987 – Alfred Amegashie
1988 – Fred Adongo
1989 – Emmanuel Amo
1990 – Emmanuel Amo
1991 – Fred Adongo
1992 – Fred Adongo
1993 – Emmanuel Amo
1994 – Hagack Gideon
1995 – Stephen Manu
1996 – Stephen Manu
1997 – Alhaji Alhassan
1998 – Alhaji Alhassan
1999 – Richard Nifa
2000 – Stephen Manu
2001 – David Zigah
2002 – David Zigah
2003 – David Zigah
2016 – Malik Yakubu
SOURCE: GraphicOnline
