Alli: Lagos City Marathon applying for Platinum Label soon

Former Nigeria international and Olympian, Yusuf Alli, has revealed that the organisers of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon will soon apply for the prestigious Platinum Label status.

The 10th edition of the marathon was held on February 15, with Kenya’s Edwin Kibet winning the title with an improved time of 2:14:19. Last year, the winner, Bernard Sang, also a Kenyan, crossed the line in 2:16:49.

Ali, the immediate past Chairman of Edo State Sports Commission, while speaking with The Guardian, yesterday, said: “I am still putting together my records from the 10th edition, and soon after, we will write to World Athletics seeking the Platinum Label status. It will be left for World Athletics to decide whether or not the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is good enough for the Platinum Label status. For me, we have done a great job to get the Platinum Label status.”

Before Saturday’s 10th edition, Alli’s projection was for any of the elite athletes to finish the race at two hours, and 10 minutes, which is one of the major criteria to get the Platinum Label.

“The Kenyan, Edwin Kibet crossed the finish line in 2:14:19, which is an improved time. We did very well in some other criteria, and I feel World Athletics is happy with us. Seven gold medal runners in the male category, two in Platinum, five gold labels for females, and one in Platinum took part in the 10th edition. They are among the top 300 runners in the World right now,” Alli said.

If the prestigious Platinum Label is awarded to the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, it will be the first in the Africa continent to achieve it.

Meanwhile, World Athletics delegates to the marathon have commended Alli for the successful organisation of the event.

The World Athletics delegates to the marathon were Anna Molisova, Air Quality Project Manager, Olivia Meyonette Sweeney, Nadeem Kamm, and Sadiq Sudan.

Speaking after the event, the delegates said they were impressed with the technical organisation of the race, admitting that it was at par with what obtains worldwide.

“The technical organisation of the marathon is at par with the best races in the world. We commend Alli and his fantastic team for doing a good job,” the World Athletics team said.

The team also commended Alli for his brilliant idea of starting the race early, which enabled the runner to run fast times despite the harsh weather.

“Despite the hot weather, the first runner still crossed the finish line in under 2 hours 15 minutes. If Alli had organised this race in Berlin or any city with friendly weather, the winner would probably finish faster than he did.”