CAA Aproves Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.

The Confederation of African Athletics,CAA, has approved the forty- two kilometer Access Bank Lagos City Marathon billed for Saturday, sixth of February, 2016.

The Chairman for the Local Organizing Committee, Ayodeji Tinubu, who made this known on Tuesday at a media parley held at the Media centre of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, said the endorsement of the continental body for Athletics was an indication that the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is authentic, adding that the International Association of Athletics Federation,IAAF, would before the week runs out send its letter of approval.

Tinubu, who doubles as the Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission,LSSC, said thirty international male marathoners of which fourteen were gold labelled and they were among top twenty marathoners in the world that had signified their interest to feature in the race.

While explaining that eleven international female marathoners of which three were silver labelled and they were among top twenty marathoners in the world that had signified their interest to feature in the race, said the aim of the race was to organise a befitting race that would attract world class marathoners to participate in subsequent editions and also to achieve the status attached to the race.

He mentioned that necessary agencies to make the event a huge success had committed one hundred percent in ensuring the race was successful, adding that the Ministry of Transportation had test run the routes mapped for the race in order to appraise traffic during and after the marathon.

The President of Athletic Federation of Nigeria, AFN, Solomon Ogba, commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, for investing heavily in the Marathon which according to him would bring return on investment to the economy of Lagos State through the number of tourists that would visit Nigeria, adding that the race would also enable the state to discover athletes who could be nurtured to become future stars.

Ogba, urged other State Governors to emulate the giant strides of the executive governor of Lagos State especially in the area of sports development.

In order to make the race drug free, the General Manager of the Marathon, Yusuf Ali, said there would a compulsory doping for the race top finishers as the Nigeria Anti Doping Agency,NADA, would be fully involved in the first full marathon in Nigeria in order to discourage performance enhancing drugs.

Ali, who stressed that ten thousand transponders to capture running time would be acquired for the race as the staffs of Lagos State Sports Commission and Athletics Federation of Nigeria,AFN, would be trained on how make use of the transponders ahead of subsequent editions.

The race General Manager, twenty thousand athletes are expected be on the starting point as over sixty-five thousand forms had been distributed.

The race is billed for Saturday, sixth of February, 2016 as it would start at the gate of the National Stadium, Surulere and ends at the Eko Atlantic City.