Hot Topics: Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

   Print
23 April 2012| last updated at 08:10AM

BII MAYBANK MARATHON: Kenyans sweep the stakes in Bali

By Noel Achariam

2 comments

KENYAN runners, as expected, dominated the BII Maybank Bali Marathon which featured runners from Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya, Australia, Grenada, the US and hosts Indonesia.

The event, which started at 5am at the Bali Safari and Marine Park, was the first international Olympic distance marathon to be held in Indonesia in over 20 years and the Men's Open category (42km) was won by Lilan Kennedy Kiproo in 2:16:54. He collected the winner's cheque for US$20,000 (RM60,000).

Luke Kipkemoi, also from Kenya, was second in 2:17:00 and another Kenyan, Wilson Chepkwonky was third in 2:18:23.

Seasoned marathon professional Luke Kibet, who was excited to be in the Indonesian holiday resort, won the Open Category Half-Marathon (21km) in 1:05:49.

Kibet said that it was only sheer determination that won him the race. "I'm very pleased with my time. The route was a bit hilly but it wasn't much of a problem. I didn't face much difficulty," he said.

Second was Polycarp Mogusu Nyansikera (1:05:52) and third Josphat Kiptanui Too Chobei (1:08:34). All three are from Kenya.

BII Maybank Bali president director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said he was very pleased with the support the marathon received and its success.

"The inaugural Bali Marathon has exceeded my expectations in terms of the access to the routes, the runner's participation and the atmosphere. It was a fantastic event and we are looking forward to hosting the marathon again next year," he said.

Leave Your Comment


Leave Your Comment:

New Straits Times reserves the right not to publish offensive or abusive comments and those of hate speech, harassment, commercial promos and invasion of privacy. Your IP will be logged and may be used to prevent further submission.The views expressed here are that of the members of the public and unless specifically stated are not those of NST.


Sports