Safree defies odds to clinch Full Marathon Men’s Open title
KOTA KINABALU: Safree Sabdin defied the odds to clinch the Full Marathon Men’s Open title at the UNICEF Borneo Marathon in Likas near here yesterday.
The victory was arguably the biggest yet achieved by the Sabahan after having consistently registered top 10 finishes in similar races in the past.
Safree crossed the finish line at the Likas Stadium in two-hour, forty-nine minutes and forty-four seconds (2:49:44s) to win the 42km race around three minutes faster than his closest rival.
Tim Gruber of USA was second with 2:55:11s while Mohd Syahidan of Malaysia came in third with 2:56:46s.
Among the notable names inside the top 10 were the State top ultra-trail runners Sapirin Sumping in fifth placing, Daved Simpat in seventh place and Sabah’s top mountain runner Safrey Sumping in ninth position.
In the Women’s Open, Malaysia’s runners dominated the podium finishes with Linda Then Yen Yen winning in 3:46:17s followed by Goh Bee Yin (3:47:10s) and Sabah’s Mailin Ripau (4:06:04s).
As for the Veteran races for the Full Marathon, Sefli Ahar took the men’s title in 2:53:25s while Mohd Rashid Rahim of Malaysia with 3:08:19s and Mark Miller of the USA with 3:14:11s settled for second and third place respectively.
The top three in the women’s veteran were Amy Mumford (3:12:42s), Sabah’s Kona Liau (3:56:01s) and Airince Liam (4:11:54s).
Meanwhile, Sabah’s promising endurance runner Wincentbert Latius had to settle for third placing in the Half-Marathon (21km) Men’s Open. Wincentbert clocked 1:28:09s to finish behind winner Leonard Kiplangat of Kenya (1:11:29s) and Hyurga Peh Yong Heng of Malaysia (1:24:19s).
“It is always going to be very challenging when up against Kenya runner but I believed I could have done better. It just didn’t feel right for me because I was not running as fast as I could... I ran faster in training. It was made worse with stomach problem midway into the race. I could have clocked a much better time,” said Wincentbert, who is attached to the Enforcement department of Kota Kinabalu City Hall.
The 25-year-old vowed to do even better when he competes in the Kuala Lumpur Marathon later this year.
Apart from the abovementioned races, the UNICEF Borneo Marathon also featured the Women Open, Men and Women Veteran for Half Marathon, the 10Km run for Men and Women as well as for school category for boys and girls. (See Full Results).
The top three in the Full Marathon received RM1,200, RM1,000 and RM800; Half Marathon RM1,000, RM800, R600; and 10Km RM500, RM400 and RM300.
Organised by Kinabalu Running Club (KRC), the event themed #KurangManis Because #I’mSweetEnough attracted close to 11,000 runners. UNICEF National Ambassador in Malaysia, Lisa Surihani, also took part in the event where she ran the 3Km route alongside children with disabilities.
Also present were Youth and Sports assistant minister, Arunarnsin Taib, City Mayor Datuk Nordin Siman, State Health director Datuk Dr. Christina Rundi, UNICEF Representative in Malaysia Marianne Clark-Hattingh and KRC president Datuk Dr. Heng Aik Cheng.