| Singapore Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Date | First Sunday of December |
| Location | Singapore |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Marathon,Half marathon,10K run,5K run |
| Primary sponsor | Standard Chartered Singapore |
| Established | 1982 |
| Course records | Men: 2:11:25 (2009) Luke KibetWomen: 2:28:54 (2019) Priscah Cherono |
| Official site | Singapore Marathon |
| Participants | 10,175 (2019) 9,313 (2018) |
TheSingapore Marathon, orStandard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) for sponsorship reasons is an annual internationalmarathon race which is held on the first Sunday of December in the city ofSingapore.[1] It is aWorld Athletics Gold Label Road Race.
The first competitive marathon in Singapore was held on 5 December 1982, with an estimated participation size of 15,000 runners.[2] Only the 2,300 competitive runners would have to register while the non-competitive runners could participate freely as joggers along the route.[2]
In 2002, a sponsorship deal withStandard Chartered saw the Singapore Marathon rebranded as the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.[3]
In 2011, 22-year-old Malcolm Sng died after running the half-marathon.[3] He suffered from a heart condition and died from acute coronary insufficiency.[3]
In 2013, the marathon was organised byIronman Asia.[4] In the half marathon, 29-year-old John Gibson, a Briton living in Hong Kong, died after collapsing 1km away from the finish line at the Padang.[4]
In 2017, Singapore was announced as a candidate city for the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series of the six largest and most renowned marathons in the world.[5] In 2019, the full- and half-marathons were held in the evening in order to fulfill criteria to be listed in the Abbott World Marathon Majors, instead of the usual flag off timing at dawn.[6] This led to a series of road closures which resulted in 3-hour long traffic jams around the city center on the race day itself as there were other major activities happening at the same time in the vicinity of the race,[7] leading to a public outcry of unhappiness.[8] Lim Teck Yin, chief executive of national sports agencySport Singapore, wrote a public letter of apology in the aftermath.[9] During Parliament, Members of ParliamentLee Bee Wah,Liang Eng Hwa andDesmond Choo raised questions on how to avoid such issues in the future.[10]
In 2020, Singapore Marathon moved its race event to a virtual format due to the advisories surrounding theCOVID-19 pandemic.[11] The virtual race format, titled "Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) Virtual Racing Series" is part of the SCSM Virtual Club initiative. Two new virtual races are made available each week for participation by runners all over the world.[12]
In 2021, Singapore Marathon returned to in-person participation, with 4000 runners joining the event.[13]
There are four separate categories of competition: the full marathon, thehalf marathon, the10 kilometres run, and the5 kilometres run. Furthermore, in 2024, there is a marathon relay race for teams of 5, as well as a number of short running competitions for children.[14]
Prize money for the full marathon race is divided into three categories: the open prize (for all competitors), the Singapore prize (open to national competitors), and the veteran prize (which acts as amasters competition).[15]
Between 2004 and 2008, it was part of "The Greatest Race on Earth" series ofroad races, sponsored byStandard Chartered Singapore (the other three legs being theHong Kong Marathon,Mumbai Marathon andNairobi Marathon).[16][17]
The times recorded at the Singapore Marathon tend to be slower than those at other marathons as Singapore's climate is unusually hot and humid.[18] KenyansLuke Kibet andSalina Kosgei are the men's and women's course record holders, respectively.[19] The 2006 edition also acted as the country's national championships, with Elangovan Ganesan and Vivian Tan Yoke Pin taking the honours.
Key: Course record Singapore championship race
Winners by country[edit]
| Multiple winners[edit]
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