Athletics
Access Bank Lagos City Marathon Can Be Africa’s Marathon Hub, Says IAAF Official
The Grade A measurer of International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) and Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), Norrie Williamson, has hailed the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon as having great potentials.
He remarked that the host city as Africa’s largest economy has the potential to be Africa’s marathon and road races hub because of its strong economy, people’s passion for sports and population.
Williamson, who measured the course of many of the world’s biggest marathons, including the marathon course of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Athens, Sydney and Beijing, remarked: “Lagos has the advantage of numbers; 25 million people in one city. If you say 10 percent of those people are interested in health and exercise; that is 2.5 million. If you take 10 percent of that as being interested in serious running, club running etc then you have got the numbers to make it happen.
“Let’s put it into perspective. In the New York Marathon, only 50 percent of the runners get under five hours. Typically in Africa, virtually every marathon runner aims for less than five hours. Out of that, you would have 10 percent, now you are talking two to three thousand runners who are capable of sub-3 hours’’.
Williamson, who has been measuring course since 1985 said for Lagos to fulfill it potentials, “there needs to be a structure and basic information and then there need to be the channeling of those with talent to go on.
“The basic marathon training is this: the faster you are over the short distance, the faster you are over the long distance. For instance, Hailed Gabriselassie held the world record at every distance from the 1500m up to the marathon; why because he was faster over the short distance. “
Comparing Lagos marathon route to that of Dubai, Williamson said “Dubai is a harder course than Lagos potentially and the reason is that Dubai is totally flat. Therefore, you are using the same muscles in exactly the same way for 42km. Lagos course has a couple of inclines; getting on and off the bridge for example. Once people get used to this course potentially, it is a faster course. They have run a 2:04 in Dubai and the next question to ask is what the weather was like. The day they ran the 2:04 on Dubai, the weather was like 16 degrees in the morning and if the weather is good a 2:08 or even 2:06 should be possible in Lagos”.
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is the winner as the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS has rejected the appeals filed by World Athletics and WADA.
The decision confirms the decision taken by the World Athletics disciplinary tribunal finding that Tobi Amusan did not commit any anti-doping rule violation.
Here is the full statement of CAS.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeals filed by
World Athletics (WA) and by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision issued on 17 August 2023 (the Challenged Decision) by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) in relation to the hurdler Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Amusan (Nigeria).
Accordingly, the Challenged Decision in which the WADT considered that Tobi Amusan did not violate Rule 2.4 of the WA Anti-Doping Rules (WA ADR) and that no period of ineligibility should be imposed on the Athlete is confirmed.
The Athlete was initially charged with committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Rule 2.4 WA ADR following three alleged Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.
In their respective appeal to CAS, WA and WADA had sought the imposition of a two-year period of ineligibility. The CAS Panel held a hearing on 19 January 2024. Having deliberated, the CAS Panel has issued its decision today dismissing both appeals. The CAS Panel unanimously acknowledged that the Athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within a 12-month
period. Accordingly, the CAS Panel concluded that the Athlete did not commit an ADRV and that the Challenged Decision should be confirmed.
The reasoned award will be published by CAS unless the parties request confidentiality.
Nigeria’s Paris 2024 medal hopeful, Tobi Amusan has been cleared as the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Athletics.
She is therefore cleared to feature at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Amusan is the 100m hurdles world record holder.
The athlete was charged in July last year with missing three anti-doping tests in 12 months but was cleared of the offence by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the sport’s governing body, World Athletics.
The Integrity Unit of the World Athletics appealed the clearance which has now been dismissed by CAS, the final arbiter in the case.
CAS in its statement remarked that its panel “unanimously acknowledged that the athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within 12 months.”
Amusan set the world record of 12.12 seconds in the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July 2022 and went on to win the title.
She finished sixth in the world championships in Budapest last year.
World Athletics’ anti-doping rules say any athlete failing to declare their whereabouts for a doping test on three occasions over 12 months is ineligible to compete for two years.
An elated Nigeria’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan has thanked God for her success in an appeal filled against her by the Athletics Integrity Unit of the World Athletics.
Had the appeal been upheld, ,Amusan would have has to miss the Paris 2024 Olymoics.
“It’s ALL GOD” Amusan said in an Instagram post alongside the court’s announcement.
Amusan, who broke the world record during her semi-final race at the 2022 world championships, is a hot favourite in her signature event at the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.
World Athletics and WADA did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
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