FORMER head coach of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Amelia Edet, has described the Obudu International Mountain Race as one of the competitions that could make Nigeria a giant among long distance running countries of the world.Speaking over the weekend on the import of the race to Nigerian athletics, Edet hailed the Cross River State government, particularly Governor Liyel Imoke, for the continued sponsorship of the annual competition and the African Nations Mountain Running Championship, just as she urged the AFN to key into it to develop world-beaters in the sport for the country.She added: 'It has re-awakened the interest of the athletes who have seized on the opportunity to close the gap between them and the East Africans. What we need to do now is to develop the environment to train these athletes for global challenges.'Edet, who was decorated with the prestigious IAAF Veteran Pin Award in 2009 at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany for her role in lifting the sport in the world, both as an athlete and as a coach, acknowledged that Nigeria has failed to develop these events despite the fact that there are enough talents and the natural environment to train and be as good as the East Africans who have become the undisputed champions in these races.'It is a known fact that the East Africans have taken advantage of the high altitude in that part of Africa to train their runners to a very high level. We also have the same kind of environment in some states in the north and even the Obudu Ranch Resort, which hosts the annual mountain race, has high altitude.'What we have to do now is to set up training camps in these areas to train our athletes,' said the coach who won a 100m hurdles silver medal at the 1973 All Africa Games in Lagos behind Modupe Oshikoya.
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