Over two thousand international elite athletes from across the globe have registered for the gold-label Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, setting a record of entries for any marathon race on the continent of Africa.
The general manager of the race, Yussuf Alli, said the elite entries would have been more, if the organisers had not regulated it to bearrest size over a week ago for effective and efficient management of the race.
Yussuf revealed that, majority of the elite athletes are from Europe, East Africa, North Africa, West Africa, Asia and South America.
“And out of the pool of registered international Elite athletes, the organisers have officially invited 47 male and 29 female world class athletes that will lead the bunch of first class athletes in the race. While the rest will compete to chase the Gold-Label status as they continue in their quest to garner requisite international points to attain first class Elite status as they grow professionally,” Yussuf said
He noted that; “The Lagos City Marathon’s quest to attain to the Platinum Label race status, which is uppermost in the desires of the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Ltd, will be boosted if two male Elite athletes can finish the race under 2 hours 10minutes and three female athletes finish under 2 hours 12 minutes.”
Yussuf, a former African record holder in the Long Jump, added that, for the 8th edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon Gold-Label race, the athletes would have their running numbers in front and their names at the back of their competition jerseys.
Meanwhile, in preparation for the first ever Gold-Label race in Nigeria, the Expo for the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon began at the Teslim Balogun, Surulere yesterday.
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