By Adegbenro Barakat Opeyemi SIWES Student, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic)
There will be 81 elite athletes, including 29 gold-label female runners, at the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, according to the General Manager of the event, Yusuf Ali. The course record may be broken on February 10, thanks to the world-class caliber of the participants.
According to Nilayo Sports Management Limited, the event’s organizer, 15 refugee runners will take part in the event, which is being supported by the United Nations.
This will be the first time that refugee runners will compete in a marathon in Africa, and it will be a landmark event in the history of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.
Yusuf Ali, who was Africa’s long jump record holder for 27 years, stated that the confirmation of more than 81 world-class Gold Label runners is a positive development, particularly as the organizers are preparing for the race’s 10th anniversary.
This is great news for the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Ali said. This is the first time we’ve ever had so many Gold Label runners in one event, and we’re hoping it will help us upgrade the race to a Platinum Label status in the future.
Ali also stated that they have received applications from athletes representing over 30 countries from five continents, including Asia and Africa. Our objective is to make sure that our world-class elite runners, who are registered for the race, assist the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon in achieving Platinum Label status, Ali stated.
This is doable if we can get five elite runners to cross the finish line in less than 2 hours 8 minutes on February 10. That is our goal. According to the IAAF Labelling System, the Gold Label is awarded to races that consistently attract the top athletes in the world and whose organization and impact in terms of media and promotion are excellent.
The Platinum Label, the highest level in the system, is awarded to those races. According to Ali, the presence of former world record holders like Demis Kipmeto (2 hours 02 minutes and 57 seconds), Kelkile Gezahegan (2 hours 05 minutes and 56 seconds), and Kiptoo Edwin (2 hours 06 minutes and 52 seconds), as well as female runners like Valary Jemeli (2 hours 19 minutes), will increase the likelihood that the status of the Lagos City Marathon will change after this race on Saturday.
He also stated that the 9th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon will serve as a qualifying event for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. He emphasized that the 9th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon will be a fantastic race by all measures this year.
He further stated that air quality control will be monitored by World Athletics, as well as a variety of other procedures carried out at major marathons across the world. We will be bringing top global athletic talents to this city and the runners can be sure of a great event.
And we are putting in place everything to meet the standard that a marathon race of this magnitude deserves. Lagos is definitely going to be a must-visit city on the 9th of February for athletes across the world, and a marathon city.
