Kemboi pips Mwangangi in Kenyan sweep at KLSCM

KUALA LUMPUR: Kenya's Ezekiel Kemboi edged out defending champion John Nzau Mwangangi in a nail-biting finish to capture the Men's Open title at the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) on Sunday.

In a dramatic final stretch, Kemboi held off his compatriot to cross the tape in two hours, 21 minutes and 19 seconds, bagging the top prize purse of US$15,000 (RM61,065).

Mwangangi was forced to settle for silver just eight seconds behind in 2:21:27, while Moses Kibet Kipsang completed a clean Kenyan sweep of the podium by taking bronze in 2:21:32.

Kemboi, who last raced at the KLSCM in 2023, attributed his success to adapting well to the humid conditions after training in Eldoret, Kenya.

"I did not really have a strategy for today and came to the race deciding to give it a try. It was hot and humid, but I was lucky today," said Kemboi.

In the Women's Open category, Ethiopia's Alemitu Ajema Lema produced a commanding display to capture the crown in 2:39:29. Kenyan runners Lucy Nthenya Ndambuki (2:39:59) and Caroline Cheptonui Kilel (2:40:17) completed the podium in second and third place, respectively.

The Malaysian categories carried extra significance this morning, serving as the official preliminary selection event for the 2027 SEA Games marathon squad.

Defending champion Yeow Ni Jia rose to the occasion in the Malaysian Men's category, holding off a competitive field to retain his title with a new local personal best of 2:33:52.

Lai Yi Hng finished second in 2:34:16, while national record holder Tan Huong Leong came in third with a time of 2:39:17.

"I decided to go with the flow today. My goal was to secure a podium spot as well as make the SEA Games longlist and of course, defend the title," said the 26-year-old Ni Jia.

"I was hoping to clock below 2:35, and because of the competitive field, I managed to get my local personal best. I will be taking a little break after this to recover from previous injuries."

The Malaysian Women's category saw a sensational marathon debut by 22-year-old Esther Joy Chen Hong Li, who broke the tape in 3:05:22 to be crowned the new national champion. Elaine Koon took second in 3:12:43, with Lai Wei Ling finishing third in 3:14:37.

"I decided to give it a shot after hearing about KLSCM being the preliminary selection event for the 2027 SEA Games," Chen said.

"My coach adapted my training for a marathon block and our strategy was to go big or go home. He gave me a rough pace to follow and my goal was to finish the race. It would have been nice to also clock a sub-3," she added.

The 18th edition of the World Athletics Elite Label event drew a record 43,800 participants across two days of competition, with more than 27,000 runners taking to the capital's streets on Sunday for the full and half marathon events flagging off from Dataran Merdeka.