The Assistant Coach for Athletics at the Lagos State University (LASU), Cach Ore Ekundayo, who is one of the products of late Kwara and national athletics Coach, Harrison Momah has said that the legacies of the late handler encouraged him to go into coaching.

Speaking to newsmen in Ilorin, Ekundayo said he learnt a lot from the late Coach, adding that he was more than a coach to him.

“I learnt a lot from late Coach Momah, not only in athletics. He was a great mentor and a father. I never wanted to go into coaching, but I found myself in the business because of the great lessons I learnt from the veteran.

“When I joined athletics in 1995, I came to the stadium as a very young athlete. I was running a school race then. When I came, the late Coach told me, “young man, I don’t train illitrates. You need to go to school.

“He took my results, and I found myself at the Kwara State Polytechnics, where I did my OND and HND programmes, before going to Lagos for NBA in Business Administration.

“I represented Kwara state in many competitions and won medals.

While describing late Momah as a disciplinarian and dedicated coach, Ekundayo recalled several occasions where the coach had to sleep outside with his athletes during major meets, instead of staying in hotels.

“I recalled a situation where he had to drop one of our best runners because he came late for a trip for a competition. We went there without him, and still achieved what we set out to achieve, in a bid to instil discipline in us.

Late Coach Harrison Momah died on March 1, 2025, at age 85, and was buried on Friday April 11, 2025, in Ilorin.