{"id":46037,"date":"2026-07-13T16:57:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T14:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=46037"},"modified":"2026-07-13T17:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:39:52","slug":"imagine-academy-athletes-sweep-top-honors-at-juba-peace-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/imagine-academy-athletes-sweep-top-honors-at-juba-peace-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"Imagine Academy athletes sweep top honors at Juba peace marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Samir Dibaco <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Imagine Academy athletes swept the top honours at the \u201cRun for Peace and Development\u201d marathon.<\/p>\n

The event, which occurred in Juba on Sunday, saw Paul Lokoro win the 5-kilometre race in 17 minutes and 30 seconds and Rose Nakang claim the women’s title after crossing the finish line in 18 minutes and one second.<\/p>\n

Emmanuel Malek from Juba finished second in the men’s category with a time of 17 minutes and 52 seconds, while Atem Manyok came third. In the women’s category, Patricia Nakwang secured second place, and Christine Toto finished third.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of athletes, government officials, youth, and community members participated in the 5-kilometre race through the streets of Juba.<\/p>\n

The marathon was organised by Imagine Academy in partnership with the Israeli Embassy in South Sudan and the Central Equatoria State Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Sports to promote peace, healthy living, and community cohesion.<\/p>\n

The event attracted both professional and amateur runners, including athletes from Chukudum.<\/p>\n

Speaking after the race, Israel’s ambassador to South Sudan, Gerson Kedar, said the marathon represented far more than a sporting competition, describing running as a symbol of unity, peace, and mutual support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we run, everyone looks out for the other person. It doesn’t matter what tribe you are or what ethnic group you come from,\u201d Kedar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why we talk about running for peace and development. If there is peace, there will definitely be development. But without peace, development becomes very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said sports help break down social barriers by bringing people from different backgrounds together, creating an environment where unity can flourish.<\/p>\n

The ambassador also praised South Sudanese athletes for their achievements on the international stage, saying their success has earned recognition in Israel.<\/p>\n

He noted that Israeli President Isaac Herzog recently commended South Sudanese runners in a letter to President Salva Kiir Mayardit, highlighting Imagine Academy athlete Stella Lokiri’s victory in the Tel Aviv Half Marathon.<\/p>\n

Kedar expressed hope that Sunday’s race would mark the beginning of regular community runs across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to this being the first of many communal runs here in Central Equatoria State and hopefully in other states across South Sudan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Central Equatoria State Minister of Youth, Culture, and Sports Bush Buse described the marathon as a timely initiative as South Sudan celebrates its 15th Independence Day.<\/p>\n

He thanked the Israeli Embassy and Imagine Academy for supporting youth through sport and commended athletes who travelled from Chukudum to participate in the competition.<\/p>\n

“This race is for peace and development,” Buse said. “When we come together from different ethnic communities, we peacefully coexist beyond our tribes.”<\/p>\n

He said regular exercise improves physical and mental health while making citizens more productive, adding that the state government would continue partnering with organisations to organise similar sporting events.<\/p>\n

Chairperson of the Central Equatoria State Youth Union, Aggry Duku Arkangelo, welcomed the initiative, saying it encourages young people to stay active while strengthening national unity.<\/p>\n

“When we run, we become healthier and more useful to society because young people are the energy of the nation,” Arkangelo said.<\/p>\n

He appealed to organisers and partners to make the marathon a monthly event to encourage healthy lifestyles among young people.<\/p>\n

“On behalf of the youth, we appreciate everyone who supported this initiative, and we hope such activities continue to unite our people and build a stronger South Sudan,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Samir Dibaco Imagine Academy athletes swept the top honours at the \u201cRun for Peace and Development\u201d marathon. The event, which occurred in Juba on Sunday, saw Paul Lokoro win the 5-kilometre race in 17 minutes and 30 seconds and Rose Nakang claim the women’s title after crossing the finish[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,80,79,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-national","category-news","category-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Imagine-Academy-athletes.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46037"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46041,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46037\/revisions\/46041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}