Ezekiel Kemboi won the Men’s Open Full Marathon at the 2026 Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon with a time of 02:21:19.
The 18th edition of the event drew a record 43,800 participants from 53 countries, with 3,600 being international participants.
The Full Marathon Men’s Open featured a Kenyan podium sweep and a close finish, with Ezekiel Kemboi pipping defending champion John Nzau Mwangangi to the line to win the gold and the prize purse of US$15,000 (RM61,065.00).
Mwangangi claimed the silver in a time of 02:21:27. Moses Kibet Kipsang took the bronze with his time of 02:21:32.
Kemboi, who last raced in the KLSCM in 2023, trained for KLSCM 2026 in the areas of Eldoret, Kenya which had similar conditions to Malaysia.
“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,” he said.
In the Women’s Open, the crown went to Alemitu Ajema Lema of Ethiopia, who finished the race with a time of 02:39:29. The remaining podium positions went to Lucy Nthenya Ndambuki of Kenya who came in second with a time of 02:39:59 while her compatriot Caroline Cheptonui Kilel took third place with a time of 02:40:17.
In the Full Marathon Malaysian Men category, Yeow Ni Jia won with a local personal best of 02:33:52, followed by Lai Yi Hng (02:34:16) and Tan Huong Leong (02:39:17).
“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. I was hoping to clock below 2:35 and because of the competitive field, I managed to get my local personal best,” said Yeow, 26. “I will be taking a little break after this to recover from previous injuries.”
In the Full Marathon Malaysian Women’s category, Esther Joy Chen Hong Li took the title in her first full marathon with a time of 03:05:22, ahead of Elaine Koon (03:12:43) who took second place and Lai Wei Ling (03:14:37) who finished third.
“I decided to give it a shot after heading about KLSCM being the preliminary selection event for the 2027 SEA Games. 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,” said Chen, 22.
The Full Marathon Malaysian categories served as the official preliminary selection event for the upcoming 2027 SEA Games
The Full Marathon was flagged off by the Deputy Minister of Economy, Dato’ Indera Mohd Shahar Abdullah.
Rainer Biemans, project director of KLSCM and director of Dirigo Events, the rights holder and organiser of the event, expressed his gratitude to the running community, sponsors and partners for making the 18th edition of the KLSCM 2026 a success at Dataran Merdeka.
“We are always committed to providing a world-class race for everyone and try to raise the bar a little higher every year to ensure that KLSCM remains a much sought-after race for runners to look forward to every year.
“We are honoured to have so many runners include the KLSCM in their running journey and we look forward to helping them rise above their limits each and every time to become the champions that they can be.
“Not only does KLSCM showcase athleticism, determination and unity in one event, it also lets runners experience more beyond the race and hopefully, they go home with many happy memories,” he said.
KLSCM 2026 Run For A Reason (RFAR) participants successfully raised over RM1.1 million for charity prior to the race weekend.
The RFAR initiative allows runners to turn their miles into meaningful community support by rallying friends and family to donate to the deserving charities.
The official charity partners and beneficiaries for the 2026 event included the Standard Chartered Foundation, Hospis Malaysia, Kechara Soup Kitchen, Teach for Malaysia and Malaysian Congenital Heart Foundation (Yayasan Jantung Kongenital Malaysia).
