Almost 36,000 runners at 9th
Standard Chartered KL Marathon
Kenyan Cosmas romps home in personal best
The Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017 Full
Marathon kicked off with a resounding reception,
garnering more than 8000
participants.
KUALA LUMPUR, 21May 2017: Close to 36,000 runners converged on Dataran Merdeka
to take part in the 9th edition of the Standard Chartered KL
Marathon. Today.Cosmas Matolo Muteti, from Kenya won the Full Marathon Men’s Open
category in a time of 2:18:43 to take home USD17,500 while the Full Marathon Women’s
Open category was won by Elizabeth Chepkanan from Kenya in a time of 2:36:14
also earning USD17,500 in the process.
Full Marathon Men’s Open Category (L-R): Kennedy
Kiproo Lilan, Cosmas Matolo Muteti, Tonui Kiprop
Five-time champion
Kennedy Kiproo Lilan from Kenya came in second in the Full Marathon Men’s Open
with a time of 2:19:35 while Tonui Kiprop from Kenya finished third in a time
of 2:20:36. In the Full Marathon Women’s Open, Vikoti Chepkemoi from Kenya took
second place in a time of 2:40:08 and Zeritu Begashaw Wakijira from Ethiopia
had to settle for third place with a time of 2:42:56.
Full Marathon Women’s Open Category (L-R):
Vicoty Chepkemoi, Elizabeth Chepkanan, Zeritu Begashaw Wakijira
The Full Marathon
Malaysian Men’s category saw a close battle between defending champion Muhaizar
Mohamad and Leo Tan Huong Leong. These two vastly improved runners were neck to
neck until close to the finish when Muhaizar eventually repeated his triumph in
last year’s Standard Chartered KL Marathon with an improved time and personal
best of 2:35:55. Leo narrowly finished second in a time of 2:38:06 and Ow Yong
Jin Kuan came in third in 2:43:45. The Full Marathon Malaysian Women’s category
was clinched by Yuan Yufang in a time of 3:23:00, while Loh Chooi Fern clocked 3:25:55
to come in second and Chua Khit Yeng got third place in a time of 3:33:46
Full Marathon Malaysian Men’s Open Category
(L-R):
Tan Huong Leong, Muhaizar Mohamad, Ow Yong Jin Kuang
Full Marathon Malaysian Women’s Open
Category (L-R): Loh Chooi Fern, Yuan YuFang, Chua Khit Yeng
FM Open winner
Cosmas, was delighted that he not only won the title but recorded a personal
best while fighting off multiple winner Kennedy. “I was running against strong
opponents but I kept to my game plan and really enjoyed the run through some
great scenery,” he said.
Muhaizar was also
thrilled to have retained his title, especially after the tough competition
with Leo. “It was a hard race but I’m very happy to have defended my title and
even happier to record another personal best at the Standard Chartered KL
Marathon,” he said.
Rainer Biemans,
Project Director of SCKLM and Director of Dirigo Events, added “We are
extremely pleased to have pulled off SCKLM 2017 without any major hiccups and
we hope that all our runners had a memorable run and a great experience
overall. It is gratifying to receive such support from the local and
international running fraternity and we are committed to continually improve on
all aspects of this event and look forward to welcoming all of you for our 10th
anniversary in 2018.”
Mahendra Gursahani, Managing
Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank said, “As title
sponsor, we are delighted to be able to play a part in empowering people from
all walks of life to make a difference through this amazing event. There are
inspiring stories everywhere today and this is a testament to the power of the
Marathon. Congratulations to all our winners and our sincere appreciation goes
out to all participants for their tremendous support.”
This was exemplified by more
than 30 visually impaired runners who took part in the 5km Fun Run, along with
volunteer “running buddies” from Standard Chartered Bank. 20 autistic children from Permata Kurnia and
over 100 underprivileged kids from Sivanandha Home and Care2run also
participated in the race across various categories. Standard Chartered KL Marathon’s Run For A Reason
charity initiative remains an integral part of the event, channelling funds
raised to deserving charities that assist underprivileged communities and those
in dire need. This year the participating beneficiaries were the Standard
Chartered Foundation, National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Dignity for Children
Foundation and Hospis Malaysia.
Efforts to make the
Marathon more competitive, like having a seven-hour cut-off time and route
checkpoints appear to be paying dividends as more than 8,000 runners signed up
for the Full Marathon category this year. There were also close to 1700 running
tourists from 52 countries and 75 nationalities taking part making SCKLM a
truly international event. SCKLM was also the first stop in Englishman Andy
Dukes’ epic marathon ride around the world on his BMW motorbike while running
in six marathons in six continents.
SCKLM 2017 Race Day
was preceded by the Race Entry Pack Collection from 18-20 May which was a
bigger affair this year with the inclusion of the Prudential Healthy Life Expo,
as well as the Friendship Run and Pasta breakfast on 20 May which saw Full Marathoners
from Malaysia and around the world gather for a warm-up run and mingle in a
more social setting.
Apart from the Full
and Half Marathons, the Standard Chartered KLMarathon 2017 also featured a 10km
distance and a 5km Fun Run for social runners, along with Kids’ Dash categories
for children under 12 years of age. There were also several categories like the
Corporate Challenge, Media Challenge, Universities Challenge and Ministries
Challenge to either raise money for charity as well as provide friendly
competition and bragging rights for the eventual winners.
The Standard
Chartered KL Marathon has grown to become the premier running event in
Malaysia, drawing thousands of local and international runners to the country
whilst firmly establishing Malaysia in the global running calendar. The 2017
edition of the race once again saw Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia returning
as title sponsor, along with a host of returning and new sponsors, including
Honda, Seiko, Brooks, Lucozade and Pacific Regency. The event is owned and
organised by Dirigo Events with co-organiser Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.
Standard Chartered KL
Marathon is sanctioned and supported by Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF),
Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur Athletic Federation (FTKLAA), International
Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Association of International
Marathons, Distance Races (AIMS).
For more information and updates on SCKLM, please
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