SINGAPORE: Soh Rui Yong marked his fifth consecutive win last weekend at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2024.
For Soh, who holds national records for the 5,000m and 10,000m races, as well as the half marathon and marathon, this year’s Standard Chartered marathon was “an honour” and a lit of “fun”.
Nevertheless, Soh wrote in social media posts after the event that Singapore’s climate and terrain make the marathon particularly challenging.
“Having raced marathons around the world, I can confidently say (that the) Singapore Marathon, with its heat, humidity, and hills, is the toughest.”
Soh also said he had run alongside Benjamin Khoo, Singapore’s Ironman record holder, for most of the race. He beat Khoo to the finish line by under 20 seconds, but based on Khoo’s social media posts, the runner-up was more than delighted.
He posted a video of “the Ironman vs the Marathoner,” which he captioned, “2nd at Singapore Marathon 2024, and I can still hardly believe it!”
@tookhooforskhoo 2nd at Singapore Marathon 2024, and I can still hardly believe it!! 😮💨
Khoo acknowledged that being a triathlete, his chances against “pure runners” were slim to none. Though he stayed close to Soh for the first half of the marathon, he began to tire after that, just as Soh was hitting his stride.
“16 minutes of pain to payday,” Khoo said. He finished with an impressive time of 2:46:24. On his part, Soh congratulated the running community who showed up for the grueling race and “gave it their all.”
“We conquered together as a community. Win or lose, tomorrow, a new season begins,” he added. Khoo congratulated Soh over Instagram, writing, “Was an honour to race alongside you. Great times! Big congrats 5x champ.”
According to a report in The Straits Times, Soh has his sights on the SEA Games in Bangkok next year.
The SEA Games appear to be very special to Soh, the first Singaporean to win back-to-back golds for the marathon in 2015 and 2017. Due to controversies, he has not competed in the SEA Games since then.
Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2024 Results:
Men
Soh Rui Yong 2:46:04
Benjamin Khoo 2:46:24
Richard Teng 2:47:18
Women
Rachel See 3:00:45
Goh Shing Ling 3:08:39
Sharon Tan 3:11:09
Men’s Elite
Geoffrey Yegon 2:16:06 (Kenya)
Abel Sikowo 2:16:12 (Uganda)
Korir Laban Kipngetich 2:16:24 (Kenya)
Women’s Elite
Fantu Zewude Jifar 2:39:04 (Ethiopia)
Agnes Keino 2:39:34 (Kenya)
Meleka Meseret Dinke 2:39:41 (Ethiopia) /TISG