Lagos City Marathon: World Athletics delegates commend Yussuf Alli

World Athletics delegates to the 10th edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon held on Saturday, 15 February, have commended the organisational acumen of Yussuf Alli, the General Manager of the race.

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

Speaking after the 10th edition of Africa’s biggest one-day sports event, the delegates were amazed by the organisational acumen of the technical aspects of the race which was handled by Mr Alli and they admit, it is at par with the technical organisation of the seven biggest marathons in the world- New York, Berlin, London, Boston, Chicago, Tokyo, and Sydney.

According to the delegates, the technical organisation of the Lagos marathon is at par with the best races in the world and commended Alli and his fantastic team for a good job.

The team also praised Mr Alli for his brilliant idea of starting the race early which enabled the runners 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 in 2 hours, 2 minutes.”

Widely regarded as the godfather of marathons and road races in Nigeria, Mr Alli made his name in sports as a jumper, sprinter and footballer.

His transition from field events to organising and managing marathon road races and marathons shocked many including the World Athletics Road Running Manager Alessio Punzi.

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When he visited Nigeria, Mr Punzi was shocked that Alli, whom he knew as a world-class jumper, was the same Mr Alli who was doing wonders in road races and marathons.

A major asset in the planning and organisation of iconic races like the MTN Marathon, Glo Marathon, We Run Lagos, Aba Marathon, Obudu Mountain Race, and many others, Mr Alli organises and manages the two World Athletics Gold Label races in Nigeria: the Okpekpe 10 Km Road Race and the Lagos City Marathon.