Kenya's Emmanuel Naibel, And Ethiopian Meseret Dinke Emerge Winners Of The 2021 Lagos City Marathon.

The sixth edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon have been won by Kenya's athlete Emmanuel Naibel.

The 42-kilometers race began at exactly 6:37am the National Stadium in Surulere, all the way to the Eko Atlantic in Victoria Island Lagos.

Naibel becomes the fourth Kenyan to have emerge winner of the Marathon, after he  reached the finished line in a course of 2hours, 15 minutes and 01 seconds. 

Though Naibel's winning time couldn't beat the 2:10:23 record time set last year by fellow compatriot David Tumo, it is the second-fastest ever in the history of the Marathon.

He is set to bag the sum of $30,000, while Ethiopian duo of Daresa Geleta and Demiso Legese finished in the second and third positions respectively in the men’s category.

Only 300 registered runners were eligible to  participate in Saturday's Lagos race due to the strict COVID-19 protocols and safety guidelines which were fully observed.

Also in the females category, 2019 winner Meseret Dinke bounced back to reclaim her title from last year's Kenyan winner Sharon Jemutai Cherop.

The Ethiopian athlete emerged the fastest female athlete to cross the finish line on Saturday, in a record time of 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 51 Secs, surpassing last year's record of 2:31:38.

This would also be the fourth time an Ethiopian would be winning the females category.

Dinke to also claim the $30,000 prize money, while second place Celestine Jepchirchir from Kenya would receive $20,000, and third place Desta Nigist Muluneh from Ethiopia would receive $15,000 respectively.

Meanwhile, Istifanus Peter Mahan emerge the first Nigerian to cross the finish line at this year’s race thus winning the ₦1,000,000 prize money, while the second and third Nigerian will bag ₦750,000 and ₦500,000 respectively.