Malaysia’s top triathletes Martyn Lim and Esther Joy Chen rose to the occasion with commanding victories in the elite Sprint races at the Southeast Asia (SEA) Triathlon Federation Championships, held as part of the 2025 Perak Multisport Festival at Marina Island Pangkor Resort and Hotel on Saturday.

Martyn, who finished fifth overall and was the fastest Malaysian last year, went one better this time by clocking 1:03:57 to clinch the men’s title, which featured a 750m swim, 20km bike, and 5km run. He held off fellow Malaysian and former SEA Games silver medallist Rikigoro Shinozuka (1:05:25), with Singapore’s Rusell Lee (1:06:10) completing the podium.

“I didn’t come in with big expectations — just focused on going hard in the swim and seeing who came up with me on the bike,” said Martyn. “I think I had a pretty good swim by managing to latch onto some feet, which made it quite comfortable. The bike felt really good — the speed was there — and on the run I was out there alone but able to hold a strong pace and finish well.”

Martyn credited his familiarity with the course as an advantage, having raced here in the past few editions.

“That definitely gave me an edge. I knew when to attack, when to hold back, and when to start pushing for the finish,” he added. “The run felt comfortable — I was pushing, but I still had more in the tank. I’m really happy with what I managed to pull off today.”

With the championships serving as the final selection race for the SEA Games, Martyn is hopeful his performance sealed the deal.

“We’ve had a few selection races, but nothing is confirmed yet. I’ve laid it all out with this one — hopefully it’s enough to earn that spot.”

In the women’s race, Esther crossed the line in 1:10:25 to finish well ahead of Singaporeans Lim Wan Ting (1:12:48) and Regine Goh (1:15:07), marking a step up from her runner-up finish last year.

“This was a good win — not necessarily for how fast I went, but for how I executed it,” said Esther. “I really challenged myself, especially in the swim and bike. It wasn’t about outright speed today — it was about racing smart, and I’m quite proud of that.”

Fresh off her win at the national championships in Putrajaya, Esther is also vying for a SEA Games return.

“I’m not too sure what the coaches will decide, but based on the results, I hope I get in. My original focus was duathlon, but since there’s no individual event this year, I’ve had to shift my attention to triathlon. If my swim gets up to standard, I believe a podium finish is possible.”

Esther, who made her debut at the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi just six months into competitive triathlon, brings an unlikely background to the sport.

“I actually come from wushu,” she revealed. “I was in the national team for Nanquan discipline for a half years before COVID-19 struck. I was losing interest after a while as we could not train and there wasn’t any competition. I eventually picked up triathlon. Interestingly, I never cycled before triathlon, but the leg strength from wushu helped a lot, especially on the bike. Power wasn’t the issue — it was just learning the skills.”

Held over two days, the Perak Multisport Festival features both triathlon and duathlon disciplines. Saturday’s triathlon programme included five race distances: the long-course 113 (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run) — introduced for the first time this year — alongside the Olympic Distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run), Sprint, Juniors 13–15 (500m swim, 10km bike, 3km run), and Kids 10–12 (200m swim, 5km bike, 2km run).

“We wanted to offer something more challenging for our growing multisport community, and the introduction of the 113 category this year was a natural next step,” said race director Toto Ong. “It’s exciting to see more Malaysians stepping up to long-course racing, and Marina Island provides the perfect setting for it.”

The Perak Multisport Festival is a celebration of endurance sport that attracted over 1,000 participants from 20 countries across all categories. Organised by XS Elite Performance, the event continues on Sunday with a full schedule of duathlon races and a family-friendly Fun Run.

“We always strive to provide a platform for everyone, from seasoned competitors to newcomers discovering the joy of multisport racing,” added Toto. “We hope the Perak Multisport Festival will be a rewarding, challenging and above all, fun experience for all participants.”