MOC disburses $370,000 to foreign athletes after dope test report from Sweden

• Nigerian runners, wheelchair competitors get N10.2m
The Main Organising Committee of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon yesterday commenced the disbursement of prize money to foreign athletes after receiving a clean report of their dope test from Sweden.

Over 55,000 local and foreign runners and 30 wheelchair athletes competed for various cash prizes in the second edition Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, which took place on February 11.

The Chief Executive Officer of NILAYO Sports Management Ltd, the official consultant to the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Bukola Olopade, told The Guardian yesterday that the disbursement of prize money to foreign athletes started yesterday and will end on Tuesday next week.

Olopade, a former Sports Commissioner in Ogun State hinted that the decision to make prompt payment of prize money to the foreign athletes came after the MOC received a clean report on their dope test, which was sent to Sweden soon after the race.

“The dope test carried out on foreign athletes after the race was sent to Sweden, and it came out clean. So we have to pay them. Again, prompt payment of prize money to winners is one of the conditions of having a lebel race, which we are pursuing,” Olapade said.

According to him, all Nigerian athletes and wheelchair competitors who won prizes in the race have been fully paid. “Before we started the process of paying the foreign athletes, we had settled all Nigerian athletes, including the wheelchair marathoners. In all, they got a total of N10.2 million,” Olopade added.

Some of the local athletes who spoke with The Guardian yesterday praised the MOC for the prompt payment of prize money saying: This is unlike some marathon races in the country where we had to wait for so long before getting our money. I hope organisers of other marathon races in the country will emulate the MOC of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon,” the athlete said at the Teslim Balogun Stadium yesterday.