(From left) Biemans, KLSCM past winners Loh Chooi Fern and Muhaizar Mohamad, Yeoh and Standard Chartered Malaysia CEO Mak Joon Nien at the KLSCM launch. – Photo courtesy of Dirigo Events
THE future promises an exciting surge in sporting events.
At the launch of the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM), Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said that athletes had expressed a desire for more sports events to be held in Malaysia to enable them to maintain their fitness and to regularly participate in competitions.
“The annual KLSCM marathon has become a staple event in Kuala Lumpur, drawing thousands of participants and helping to promote many talented runners over the years,“ she said.
“We want to see more sports events similar to this taking place, and we anticipate that our ministry’s allocation of the matching grant will motivate organisers to arrange them.
“Organising sports competitions not only enables the people and athletes to participate and maintain their fitness, but also provides an opportunity for our country to host more international events,” said Yeoh at KLSCM’s launch at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
She said that the matching grant has the potential to benefit other industries too, as events held can provide a boost to sectors like food and beverage (F&B) and hospitality.
Back for its 15th year, KLSCM returns this time with the prestigious Road Race Label by World Athletics, making it the first running event in Malaysia to achieve international recognition.
KLSCM project director and Dirigo Events director Rainer Biemans said that the event has consistently been encouraging individuals to engage in running as a means of maintaining their physical well-being and health.
Some changes will be implemented this year, with the purpose of decreasing the event’s carbon footprint and waste.
Changes include encouraging runners to use refillable water bottles instead of paper cups, composting the large amounts of fruit given to runners and educating participants about the significance of waste reduction and recycling.
These changes represent the start of KLSCM’s efforts towards sustainability and the organisers’ plans to introduce additional measures to enhance the event’s environmental friendliness.
This year’s marathon will take place in Dataran Merdeka on Sept 30 and Oct 1, and is expected to gather 40,000 participants.
