Esther Obiekwe, an employee of Diamond Bank Plc, will be the first ever Nigerian woman to represent the country at the marathon event of an Olympic Games when she participates in the marathon event which will take place in London on August 5, 2012.
This is following her nomination by the Athletic Federation of Nigeria to compete at the London 2012 Olympic Games. This was made known to newsmen in Lagos during a reception held at Diamond Bank Plc’s corporate Head Office, where Esther Obiekwe presented her nomination certificate to the Board and Management of the Bank shortly before her departure for London.
Esther Obiekwe also received a return ticket to London courtesy of the bank.
She works in Diamond Bank’s Corporate Banking division said. However, she is not new to the marathon race. According to her, “Although I am not a full time athlete due to my work schedule as a banker, I have participated in some of the world’s top marathons including Athens, Berlin, Boston, Dubai and now the Olympic Games.
“Out of these, only the Boston and the Olympics require one to run a competitive time in a previous marathon to qualify. I qualified for both and have been selected to represent Nigeria in the Olympics… This means I will run the marathon on August 5 in London as a part of the Nigeria Olympic team. I see this act alone as a victory.”
This is exactly what I expect from good people of Nigeria. Banker to athlete. Not first lady to permanent secretary.