With just under five weeks left until the 3rd MoC Grand Prix on 2nd–3rd April, over 300 Athletes from across Nigeria and West Africa have already registered for the Event which has fast become the largest annual Athletics Competition in Nigeria aside the National Trials.
Several National Team Athletes for Nigeria have already signaled their intention to storm Lagos for the 3rd MoC Grand Prix, with qualification for the Tokyo Olympics up for grabs. These include Commonwealth Games Medallist and multiple African & National Champion Patience Okon-George, African Games Medallists Kemi Francis & Emmanuel Arowolo, and African Championships Medallist Samuel Kure.
As the competition for places on Nigeria’s Olympic Team heats up, they will be joined by other top Team Nigeria Athletes at the Event, such as Commonwealth Games Medallist & National 100m Champion Joy Udo-Gabriel, African Games Medallist & National 400m Champion Emmanuel Ojeli, National 200m Silver Medallist Jerry Jakpa, and National 100m Silver Medallist Grace Nwokocha. Indeed, National Team Athletes of other countries such as Sierra Leone and Togo have already registered their interest in traveling to Nigeria for the Olympic-qualifying Event!
The Top Athletics Clubs in Lagos dominate the list of entries for the 3rd MoC Grand Prix so far – the hosts MoC Track Club will have 25 Athletes at the Event, while Eaglesight (20), Olapade Athletics Club (16) and Arena (14) have signaled their intention to attend in numbers. Further afield, the Event has also received entries from D’Victors (11) and Christy Athletics Club (8) in Ogun State, Federal University of Technology Akure (10) in Ondo, God’s Speed Athletics Club (7) in Oyo, Favoured Stars (5) in Delta and Coach Felix Academic & Sports Foundation (5) in Kaduna!
Other established Athletics Teams who will be making a return to the MoC Grand Prix include Team Police (10), Civil Defence (8) and the African Athletics Development Centre (AADC) in Port-Harcourt (3). Several States will also have Athletes who will be looking to use the Grand Prix to keep sharp and prepared for the National Sports Festival which has been rescheduled to later in April, including Edo (15), Delta (7), Anambra (5), Akwa Ibom (3) and Cross River (3).
Reacting to the number of entries received thus far, MoC Founder/CEO said, “We’re excited about the response from Athletes nationwide and abroad for the 3rd MoC Grand Prix. The first edition in 2018 had 400 Athletes and the second in 2019 had 500 Athletes. With three weeks of registration still left, we’re well on track to exceed those numbers, but these are different times due to the pandemic so we will be publishing a final invite list that ensures we can strictly adhere to coronavirus safety protocol – Athletes vying to qualify for the Olympics, World U20 and African Championships will be prioritised on the final list of invitees.”
The initial registration deadline of Friday 5th of March has been extended to Friday 19th of March – do note that no further entries will be permitted after this final deadline. Athletes yet to register can still do so via the registration link below: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3rdMoCGrandPrix
Also, the Final list of Track & Field disciplines will be confirmed after the final registration deadline – going by previous editions and the most important disciplines for Nigerian Athletes seeking qualification for the Olympics, World U20 Championships or African Championships, all track events from 100m to 1500m including the Hurdles events, as well as most field events (Jumps & Throws) for both men and women will feature.
However, the event is by invitation only and the final list of invited Athletes will be published a week before the event (by Friday 26th March). All Athletes registering from outside Nigeria however will be contacted for further information immediately MoC receives their registration for the event.
