Victor Kipchirchir from Kenya clinches maiden KLSCM title

40,000 runners took part in the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) 2019 on 29^th September. The 11th edition of the event saw record participation numbers, with one of the largest Full Marathon fields seen in Malaysia with more than 13,000 runners taking part in the category.

Furthermore, 12,500 runners ran in the Half Marathon.

Victor Kipchirchir from Kenya, won the Full Marathon Men’s Open category in a time of 2:19:41 to take home U$17,500 in prize money while the Full Marathon Women’s Open category was won by Gladys Jepkemoi Chemweno from Kenya in a time of 2:36:45, also bagging US$17,500 in the process.

Kiprop Tonui from Kenya came in second in the Full Marathon Men’s Open with a time of 2:20:05 while Tallam James Cherutich, also from Kenya finished third in a time of 2:21:04.

In the Full Marathon Women’s Open, defending champion Elizabeth Chepkanan Rumokol from Kenya had to settle for second place in a time of 2:41:48 while Ngigi Pauline from Kenya took third place with a time of 2:45:44.

The Malaysian Men’s category was a keenly contested affair as two of the best in Malaysia,  Muhaizar bin Mohamad and Nik Fakaruddin bin Ismail went toe-to-toe for most of the race. SEA Games bronze medallist Muhaizar eventually though broke away towards the end, managing to defend his title and in doing so won this category for the fifth consecutive time, finishing in 2:35:23.

Nik Fakaruddin finished second in 2:40:31. The Full Marathon Malaysian Women’s category saw Loh Chooi Fern defend her maiden win in KLSCM2018 in a time of 3:21:33 while Tho Siaw Khim clocked 3:29:42 to come in second.

Victor Kipchirchir was delighted with his win in his first-ever outing at this event. He said, “It was a tough race as I have never run in this type of heat before but my preparation was good. I am happy to be able to win in my first race in Kuala Lumpur and I hope to come back next year.”

Local hero Muhaizar was also thrilled to have retained his title, especially after the intense competition with training partner Nik Fakaruddin. “I think running and winning in KLSCM before gave me a slight advantage over the other competitors as I know what to expect and so made the right strategy,” he said. “This win will help boost my confidence ahead of the SEA Games in Manila in November and I hope to be able to bring back a medal,” he added.

The event also saw more than 1,900 runners from 49 countries arriving in Kuala Lumpur to take part in the event. 10,020 Malaysians also came from outside of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to make it a particularly busy weekend for the city.

The Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon has grown year-on-year to become the most anticipated distance running event in Malaysia, where for the first time this year public registrations had to be balloted.

Find out more at www.kl-marathon.com.

Full Marathon Men’s Open

Full Marathon Women’s Open

Full Marathon Malaysian Men

Full Marathon Malaysian Women

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