Meet the First Nigerian on the North Pole

Family, friends and fans of Nigerian woman, Tuedon Morgan, otherwise known as Tee Morgan took to social media over the weekend to celebrate her for successfully participating and completing one of the world’s most grueling sporting challenges, the UVU North Pole Marathon race.

The , proudly waved her flag at the end of the race. She was among 44 athletes who endured 12 laps of a debilitating 3.5km course of ice and snow around the Russian-operated camp Barneo in -41C temperatures on April 9, with participants from different countries and races.

According to Tee Morgan, on her Facebook page, all she wanted to do was “lose weight from 121kg”. Now she became the first Nigerian to ever step foot on the North Pole and run a marathon at the North Pole.

The race is run on small, 2.62-mile loop about 10 times over hard snow or the frozen ice of the Arctic Ocean. Snipers were placed around the running circuit to protect the athletes from polar bears or other dangerous animals.

First to comment was the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) technical committee member, Yusuf Alli, who described her achievement at the North Pole as humbling. “Though, I don’t know her in person, but having heard of this feat and being the first Nigerian, I doff my hat for her and I hope the federation and all Nigerians will acknowledge this effort for a handsome reward.”

Former top female hurdler, Maria Usifo, said she read Morgan’s feat on the social media and was elated that a Nigerian women has once more done the country proud. “This is the kind of feat that Nigeria should encourage. Other countries would jump at it with celebrations, but of course, here, we are going to wait until her adopted country (Britain) begins to remind us.”

Apart from this amazing feat, the 42-year mother of four ran a marathon on all seven continents, including Antarctica. Tee is a proud member of the National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA) in the US. This association is the largest and the oldest not-for-profit organization that supports black distance runners.