Over 30,000 runners to compete at 10th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon
Elite athletes, sports enthusiasts, tourists numbering over 30,000 are expected to grace the the 10th edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on Saturday, February 15.
Speaking at the world press conference for the Marathon which was held at the Access Bank Headquarters in Lagos on Friday, the General Manager of the marathon, Yusuf Ali disclosed that 37,000 participants as at Friday have picked up their running bibs.
“We need to be clear in terms of numbers. 60,000 people registered to participate in the marathon across all the categories, and as I am speaking to you 37,000 people have picked up their running bibs and it doesn’t even mean that all those who collected the bibs will run tomorrow” he said.
Ali stated that the full Marathon of 42.5km starts at 6:30am at the National Stadium in Surulere and the
10km will commence at 9:30am at the Grace garden event centre in Lekki with Eko Atlantic serving and finish point of both races.
While noting some of the achievements of the marathon which commenced in 2016, Ali said the main aspiration of the organisers is to achieve the Platinum label which is the highest status of marathon in the world.
Ali, Nigeria’s record holder in men’s Long Jump explained that the major target this Saturday is for any of the elite athlete to finish the race below 2hrs: 10minutes, which is one of the major criteria to get the Platinum Label.
He said all that is required for the label had been fulfilled by the Access Bank Lagos City marathon, adding that it is working hard to be the first in Africa to achieve the Platinum.
“Right now, we have good numbers of elite runners participating this year. We have seven gold medal runners in male category, two in Platinum, five gold labels for females and one in Platinum. Right now, the World Athletics (WA) has changed the ranking modalities and the runners must be among the top 300.
“We have ticked all the boxes needed for qualification for the Platinum label. We are changing the status quo this year. Achieving the Platinum label category will be the first of such in Africa among other countries staging marathons. For this 10th anniversary, we have the elite athletes that can give us the Platinum Medal and also have our cross record which is 2hours: 10minutes.
He however attributed the success of the race to the late MD/CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, who died in a helicopter crash alongside his wife and son on the day of the 2024 edition of the event in the United States.
For the Managing Director/CEO of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, the organisers of the marathon, Mrs. Yetunde Olopade, getting the Platinum status is a mission possible.
Our eyes are set in achieving this, which I think will be a strong position for Lagos State and Nigeria as a country,” she said. “We have done everything we can, and I am optimistic we will get it.”
Mrs. Olopade commended the sponsors, especially the Lagos State government and Access Bank, saying it has been a 10 glorious years of strong partnership.
Speaking on behalf of the headline sponsor, Access Bank, Amaechi Okobi said the marathon has grown in leaps and bounds over the years. Noting that the bank will continue to support the project, he called on more partners and sponsors to key into the project to further drive its inception message.
