Singapore Marathon

The Singapore Marathon, or BYD Singapore International Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual international marathon race which is held on the first Sunday of December in the city of Singapore. It is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race.

History The first competitive marathon in Singapore was held on 5 December 1982, with an estimated participation size of 15,000 runners. Only the 2,300 competitive runners would have to register while the non-competitive runners could participate freely as joggers along the route.

In 2002, a sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered saw the Singapore Marathon rebranded as the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

In 2011, 22-year-old Malcolm Sng died after running the half-marathon. He suffered from a heart condition and died from acute coronary insufficiency. In 2012, the race gained its World Athletics Gold status.

In 2013, the marathon was organised by Ironman Asia. 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.

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. 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. 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, leading to a public outcry of unhappiness. Lim Teck Yin, chief executive of national sports agency Sport Singapore, wrote a public letter of apology in the aftermath. During Parliament, Members of Parliament Lee Bee Wah, Liang Eng Hwa and Desmond Choo raised questions on how to avoid such issues in the future.

In 2020, Singapore Marathon moved its race event to a virtual format due to the advisories surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.

In 2021, Singapore Marathon returned to in-person participation, with 4000 runners joining the event.

In 2025, it had a cap of 55,000 runners. After the race, Sport Singapore announced that Ironman Asia was replaced by SG Marathon Pte Ltd with a two-year extendable contract as Ironman's decade-long event management contract ended.

In 2026, BYD became the new title sponsor of the Singapore Marathon with the marathon now titled as BYD Singapore International Marathon.

Race There are four separate categories of competition: the full marathon, the half marathon, the 10 kilometres run, and the 5 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.

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 a masters competition).Race Information . Singapore Marathon (2009). Retrieved on 19 November 2009.

Between 2004 and 2008, it was part of "The Greatest Race on Earth" series of road races, sponsored by Standard Chartered Singapore (the other three legs being the Hong Kong Marathon, Mumbai Marathon and Nairobi Marathon).The Greatest Race on Earth 2008–09 . PACE Magazine. Retrieved on 19 November 2009.Post, Marty (5 December 2004). Tanui leads record breakthrough in steamy Singapore . IAAF. Retrieved on 19 November 2009.

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.Butcher, Pat (19 November 2009). Kibet returns to a hot reception in Singapore . IAAF. Retrieved on 19 November 2009. Kenyans Luke Kibet and Salina Kosgei are the men's and women's course record holders, respectively. The 2006 edition also acted as the country's national championships, with Elangovan Ganesan and Vivian Tan Yoke Pin taking the honours.

List of winners Key:

Year Men's winner Nationality Time(h:m:s) Women's winner Nationality Time(h:m:s)Ref1982Raymond Crabb2:24:19Winnie Ng2:55:111984Tommy Persson2:18:30Kersti Jakobsen2:41:341986Alain Lazare2:19:04Kersti Jakobsen2:39:031988Hans Pfisterer2:22:49Li Yemei2:46:041989Ricky Khoo2:39:09Toh-So Liang2:53:091990Kuruppu Karunaratne2:21:10Li Yemei2:47:47 1991 Tikaram Gurung 2:42:02Yvonne Danson 2:47:27 1992 Gareth Spring 2:22:22 Yvonne Danson 2:43:34 1993 Tan-Choon Ghee 2:42:22 Irene Chua 3:23:18 1994Robert Nolan 2:22:40 Mieke Pullen 2:50:38 1995Somkert Winthochai 2:35:39 Yoki Chow 3:20:19 1996 Tor-Erik Nyquist 2:24:17Sylvia Rose 2:48:19 1997 Tsutomu Sassa 2:28:08 Ruwiyati 2:49:54 1998Zacharia Mosala 2:27:27 Jing Lu 2:59:58 1999Ernest Wong 2:48:43 Ruwiyati 2:54:53 2000 Nixon Nkodima 2:27:07Ruwiyati 2:53:11 2001 Tadesse Hailemariam 2:23:02 Workenesh Tola 2:53:29 2002Joseph Riri 2:18:46 Constantina Tomescu 2:36:06 2003John Kelai 2:19:02 Yu-xi Wang 2:43:57 2004 Philip Tanui 2:17:02 Helen Cherono 2:39:37 2005 Amos Matui 2:15:57Irina Timofeyeva 2:34:422006 Amos Matui 2:15:01 Salina Kosgei 2:31:55 2007Elijah Mbogo 2:14:22 Alem Ashebier 2:37:08 2008Luke Kibet 2:13:01 Edith Masai 2:34:15 2009 Luke Kibet 2:11:25 Albina Ivanova 2:32:49 2010 Kenneth Mungara 2:14:06Irene Kosgei 2:35:22 2011 Charles Kanyao 2:14:33.75Irene Kosgei 2:36:42.39Kenyans sweep in Singapore . IAAF (4 December 2011). Retrieved on 4 December 2011. 2012Kennedy Lilan 2:17:20.27 Irene Kosgei 2:37:53.51Kenyans Lilan and Kosgei take titles in Singapore . IAAF (2 December 2012). Retrieved on 2 December 2012. 2013Chelimo Kipkemoi 2:15:00 Sharon Cherop 2:41:11.04Chelimo Kipkemoi and Cherop make it another Kenyan double in Singapore . IAAF (1 December 2013). Retrieved on 1 December 2012. 2014 Kenneth Mungara 2:16:42 Waganesh Amare 2:46:54 2015 Julius Maisei 2:17:26 Doris Changeywo 2:44:26 2016 Felix Kirwa 2:17:18 Rebecca Chesir 2:43:04 2017 Cosmas Kimutai 2:22:48 Pamela Rotich 2:38:31 2018 Joshua Kipkorir 2:12:18 Priscah Cherono 2:32:11 2019 Joshua Kipkorir 2:19:14 Priscah Cherono 2:28:54 2020 Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore 2021 2022Ezekiel Omullo 2:20:20Esther Macharia 2:45:092023David Barmasai Tumo2:14:15Rose Chelimo2:37:192024Boniface Abel Sikowo2:16:12Fantu Zewude Jifar2:39:04

Statistics

Winners by country CountryMen's raceWomen's raceTotal 21 13 34 3 3 6 0 4 4 2 2 4 1 4 5 0 3 3 1 1 2 0 2 2 2 0 2 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1

Multiple winners AthleteCountryWinsYearsRuwiyati31997, 1999, 2000Irene Jerotich Kosgei32010, 2011, 2012Kersti Jakobsen21984, 1986Li Yemei21988, 1990Yvonne Danson21991, 1992Amos Matui22005, 2006Luke Kibet22008, 2009

Singapore Marathon

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