First-time competitor Muhammad Haziq Mohd Hairol Izmi surged past the field to claim gold in the Men’s Open IHH 10km race at the 18th edition of the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) on Saturday morning.

The 27-year-old Malaysian crossed the finish line at Dataran Merdeka with an impressive time of 33:54, setting a high bar on the opening day of Malaysia’s premier distance running event.

“This is my first KLSCM race. I kept my eye on the men’s leads to push forward, and it helped that the weather was cool,” Haziq said following his victory. “I felt good and look forward to running in the KLSCM again next year, maybe in the Half Marathon or Full Marathon.”

Haziq was closely followed by Thailand’s Aekkarat Meenamai, who secured silver with a time of 34:22, and Singapore’s Ahmad Arif Ibrahim, who took bronze at 34:57.

In the Women’s Open 10km category, Kenyan runner Mercy Jebiwott dominated the field, clinching the top podium spot in 37:00. Singapore’s Serena Teoh Dong Xiang secured second place at 39:41, while Malaysian Shayathiri Ratnam took the bronze, finishing in 42:16.

The morning’s events drew a massive crowd of over 13,300 participants to the capital’s historic center. The 10km race featured a competitive field of more than 9,800 runners, while the 5km fun run brought together over 3,500 non-competitive participants, including runners sporting eye-catching costumes ranging from anime characters to a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Veteran runners also delivered strong performances on the asphalt. Singapore’s Marcus Ong topped the Men’s Veteran 10km category at 36:02, flanked by Malaysians Lee Ching Keong (37:06) and Yong Khong Wei (38:00). Malaysian women cleanly swept the Women’s Veteran category, with Chua Mei Yin taking gold in 45:00, followed by Foo Yin Yin (46:49) and Lim Pei Ting (47:17).

As the only race in Malaysia to hold the World Athletics Elite Label, KLSCM has firmly established itself on the global running calendar. Organizers expect the two-day event to draw more than 43,000 runners from over 70 countries, backed by massive on-the-ground infrastructure including over 400 medical staff deployed by IHH Healthcare Malaysia.

“The energy and excitement here today was palpable,” said Rainer Biemans, Project Director of KLSCM. “We believe in giving runners a world-class event for them to shine in, to become the champions that they are, while improving and elevating the standards of distance running in Malaysia overall.”

The competition and the stakes will rise significantly on Sunday as the highly anticipated Half Marathon and Full Marathon categories commence. Local athletes will face intense pressure in the Full Marathon Malaysian Men’s category, which officially serves as the preliminary selection event for the upcoming SEA Games 2027.