The General Manager of the 2021 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Yussuf Alli has said Nigerian runners who set new records at the marathon will be rewarded.
Alli, who broke the Commonwealth, Africa and Nigeria record in long jump as an athlete, said it is disheartening that Nigerian elite runners are not taking advantage of the quality of international elite runners participating at the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon to improve their performances and break records.
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“About 14 runners ran inside 2hours 10 minutes at the 2020 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, breaking our course record of 2hours and 15 minutes but sadly none of them is a Nigerian.”
Alli wonders why a country that produced Abass Muhammed and Yohanna Waziri who are 2hours 15 minutes runners over three decades ago is struggling to produce runners that could equal their feats today with advancement in training technique and the money on the table.
“When President Ibrahim Babangida announced the incentives for gold medalists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, I left my base in Missouri, United States to train in Bauchi.
“I even hired a coach. My reward was not just a gold medal and Commonwealth record but thousands of dollars from Babangida, a house and a street named after me.
I am appealing to our runners to take advantage of the Marathon and road races circuit to invest in their talents and make money while they are still young because sports has no second-hand value,” he said.
The 42.20km Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, April 10.
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