Soh Rui Yong wins fifth StanChart Singapore Marathon national title

The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) had a new finish line at the Anderson Bridge in 2024, but there was a familiar sight at the end point on Dec 1 when Soh Rui Yong claimed the national title.

After securing his fifth victory at the race with a 2hr 46min 5sec effort, the 33-year-old is now aiming to compete at the 2025 Bangkok SEA Games.

While Soh has been embroiled in several selection controversies with the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) over the past few years, he is hoping to secure his fourth appearance at the biennial event.

He said: “That’s the goal. The SEA Games are a chance to represent Singapore and for many of us, it’s the biggest meet we’ll do in our lifetime. 

“I’ve been to three SEA Games and each one has been a very good experience with my team and to make a lot of new friends.”

The event also offers Soh the exciting prospect of a marathon treble after golds in 2015 and 2017. He added: “My first title was in 2015 and next year is 2025 so if I win two gold medals 10 years apart that’s pretty good.”

After clashes with the SNOC resulted in him being excluded from the contingent for the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games, the distance runner was selected for the 2023 edition in Cambodia.

But a month after the Phnom Penh Games, where he won the 10,000m silver, Soh was out of the national fold again as the SNOC deemed that he “failed to honour commitments” to the organisation.

Soh, however, is eager to make his Games return. Currently based in England, where he is completing an MBA (master of business administration) at the London Business School, he travelled to Asia last week to compete in several meets.

The first was the Tokai University Long Distance Challenge 10,000m, where he met the SEA Games qualifying mark of 31min 25.55sec with his time of 31:11.37, followed by the SCSM.

On Dec 1, Soh finished ahead of Benjamin Khoo (2:46.24) and Richard Heng (2:47.18), who were second and third respectively in the Singapore marathon.

Soh, who bagged $10,000, said: “If you look at the times, I felt that the men’s national championship field was quite competitive this year, the fight for the podium was very close so it bodes well for the depth of marathon running in Singapore.”

Also retaining her women’s national title was Rachel See, who finished first in 3:00.45, ahead of Goh Shing Ling (3:08.39) and Sharon Tan (3:11.09).

See attributed her win to feeling much more relaxed in 2024, even though her preparations were not as thorough as they had been the previous year.

There was also less pressure to perform as compared to 2023, when she clocked a personal best of 2:51 on the Gold Coast.

The 42-year-old said: “I was enjoying myself throughout the course. This year I was very aware and alert and I enjoyed every moment of it.

“I just came with a very open mind to do my best and I didn’t feel the pressure.”

The SCSM, which ran from Nov 29 to Dec 1, attracted over 55,000 runners, up from more than 44,000 in the 2023 edition.

This included close to 13,000 international participants from 84 countries. Among them were Kenyan Geoffrey Yegon and Ethiopian Fantu Zewude Jifar, who won the men’s and women’s elite marathon events respectively.

 

They pocketed the winners’ cheques of US$45,000 (S$60,280) each.

It was a close finish in the men’s elite race as Yegon breasted the tape in 2:16.06, finishing ahead of Uganda’s Abel Sikowo (2:16.12) and fellow Kenyan Korir Laban Kipngetich (2:16.24).

The intensity of the race showed as the 36-year-old vomited right after crossing the finish line.

Despite the fierce competition between the trio, they embraced and congratulated one another once the race was over.

“It feels very good to win,” said Yegon, who was competing in the Republic for the first time.

“Coming from Kenya, the Singapore race was always ‘wow’ so I have been wanting to come here. Singapore is very nice, but it is very hot, so I trained very hard in Kenya to try to win the race.”

 

While it was a tight battle for the men’s crown, Jifar secured the women’s title with some way to go after breaking away from the pack to win in 2:39.04.

Kenya’s Agnes Keino was second in 2:39.34, while Jifar’s compatriot Meleka Meseret Dinke finished third in 2:39.41.

Jifar, 28, said: “I’m happy to have won, Singapore is a beautiful country to race in. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the prize money, but I know I can’t wait to come back to Singapore.”