Chapman, Hasnita winners of Borneo International Marathon
Kristjan Chapman of Iceland (centre) poses with fellow winners after receiving his prizes from Kam (left) and Dr Heng (right). – Photos courtesy of Chloe Tiffany Lee
KOTA KINABALU (May 11): Kristjan Chapman and Hasnita Asis were crowned the Men's and Women's Open 42km winners of the Alliance Bank Borneo International Marathon (BIM) in Likas here on Sunday .
The achievement was made even memorable for the duo as the homegrown sports event, the largest and longest-running marathon in Borneo, celebrated its 15th anniversary this year.
Chapman did not have it easy as he was trailed closely by Malaysian competitor Mohd Ikmal Sahdan in the Men's Open Full Marathon race.
The runner from Iceland clocked an impressive two-hour, fifty-six minutes and twenty-six seconds (2:56.26) to edge Ikmal to top placing, with the latter crossing the finish line at the Likas Stadium just shy of one minute (2:57.25) away.
Sabah's young talent Oswald Maikol finished third in a time of 3:00.40s.
Hasnita (centre) made the state proud after winning BIM Women's Open 42km race.
In the Women's Open, Hasnita of Tawau made the state proud as she bested Ririko Nishiki and Li Wen Jing of China to emerge winner.
Hasnita clocked 3:49.11 to claim her first BIM Full Marathon title having finished third in 2023 and fourth in 2024 while Ririko and Li clocked 3:56.54s and 4:05.18s respectively.
'The initial aim was to run a sub four-hour race and I did it … I'm happy,' said Hasnita when met after receiving her prizes from Alliance Bank Group CEO, Kellee Kam Chee Khiong.
Special mention also goes to Yoshiyuki Ono of Japan and Lee Siok Chin of Malaysia where both were the fastest finishers in the 42km race in a time of 2:52.44s and 3:18.38s respectively as they clinched the Men's and Women's Vetaran titles respectively.
In the Half Marathon (21km), Brunei Darussalam runner Ruzaini Mahadi took home the Men's Open title in a time of 1:14.36s while Najib Mooiz of Singapore came second in 1:17.26s and local contestant Romieo Mieo in third place in 1:20.27s.
Goh Shing Lin won Women's Open Half Marathon race after clocking 1:23.33s while Malaysian duo Lee Shu Ting (1:40.08s) and Bong Siat Nyuk (1:44.14s) settled for second and third placing respectively.
For the record, the BIM featured the Full Marathon and Half Marathon contesting the Open, Veteran and Senior Veteran races for men and women while the 10km category featured Junior, Open and Veteran races for men and women.
Overall, over 8,000 runners were involved in the BIM.
Present to do the flag-off were Kam, Life Water Berhad managing director Liaw Hen Kong, Pos Malaysia Group Chief Marketing, Communications & Sustainability Officer Fiona Liao, Pos Malaysia director of operations Haji Zaini B. Yahman, Youth and Sports Ministry assistant secretary (sports development unit) Mohd Fadzil @ Ahmad Fakry Maruji, Kota Kinabalu City Hall deputy director general (operations) Robert Lipon and Kinabalu Running Club-cum-Race Director Datuk Dr Heng Aik Cheng.
Alliance Bank BIM 2025 Results
FULL MARATHON (42km) Men's Open 1. Kristjan Chapman (Isl) 2:56.26s 2. Mohd Ikmal Sahdan (Mas) 2:57.25s
3. Oswald Maikol (Mas) 3:00.40s
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