Lagos City Marathon: 81 Athletes, 15 Refugees To Feature

By Anulika Menanya, Lagos.

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About 81 world class elite athletes, as well as 15 refugee runners have confirmed their participation in the 9th Lagos City Marathon, which is scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 10th, 2024.

Among them are 29 gold label female runners, which in totality according to the General Manager of the Lagos City Marathon, Yusuf Ali, has a world class running field with the potential of unearthing a new course record in the competition.

15 refugee runners were confirmed by the United Nations to participate in the 9th edition of the Lagos City Marathon.

Ali, a former Africa record holder in the Long Jump, said the line up of athletes is a positive thing for the event as organisers prepare for the 10th edition of the race, with the biggest prospect of uplifting the race from the Gold Label status to the Platinum Label.

The General Manager of the Lagos City Marathon, Yusuf Ali.

“Our target is to ensure that our registered world class elite runners help propel the Lagos City Marathon to the Platinum Label,” Ali said. “This is possible with the calibre of runners that will be on the field on February 10th.”

“If we can produce five elite runners crossing the finish line at 2 hours 8 minutes, we shall most definitely climb to the Platinum Label.”

“With the presence of  former world record holder Demis Kipmeto of Ethiopia and compatriot Kelkile Gezahegan, as well as Kenyan duo of Kiptoo Edwin and Valary Jemeli, there is a huge possibility that the status of the Lagos City Marathon will change at the end of this,” he added.

Ali, disclosed that the Marathon will be used to select athletes for the fast approaching 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

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