Elizabeth Ajibade on Sunday clinched the gold medal in the Under-15 category at the fourth edition of the Asiwajuniwa Cycling tournament in Ibadan.
Aishat Arogundade came second while Olawunmi Ogunsina came third.
In the professional five laps category, Mutiu Azeez came first while Azeez Abass came second and Olalekan Asiribo emerged third.
Speaking after the event, Ajibade ascribed the victory to hard work and her commitment to training.
She said that she had been training rigorously for her to have a smooth victory when competitions come.
“It wasn’t an easy competition as everyone came with the mindset of winning. I’m happy that my hard work made me win today,” the cyclist said.
Efe Edward and Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja co-sponsored the one-day tournament.
Olatunde-Agbeja said he was excited about the turnout in spite of the short notice.
He said the competition was geared at catching them young.
“Cyclists in the age categories and the process of catching them young are impressive. They have so much energy to burn. They are our future and I believe they’ll become stars.
“The competition is not about winning but about participating and making new friends.”
Olatunde-Agbeja, however, assured that the competition would be an annual event.
“I’m impressed with what I saw today and I’ll continue to support cycling in Nigeria,” he said.
Edward said he was happy to see the turnout of fantastic cycling talents which abound in Nigeria.
“This is just the beginning and we hope to do more. The gifts presented to winners today were not the essence of the competition, but the networking and relationship being built today.
“Our cyclists should not give up. They should just keep pushing and they will get there,” he said.
120 cyclists took part in the competition, with participants drawn from Osun, Lagos, Ogun, Kwara and Oyo states, as well as some clubs in Oyo state.
