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| Singapore athlete Thiruben Rajan all smiles as he completes 5k race |
SINGAPORE, 5 December 2021 – A total of 4,000 runners hit the Marina Bay course for the Grand Finale of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) 2021 this weekend.
The event celebrated the return of mass participation events. Signaling a positive step towards an endemic lifestyle, the return of the in-person event is one part of the Grand Finale, which saw runners participate in three categories: the 5KM, 10KM and the Toyota Ekiden (team of 4).
Safety was the top priority for organisers throughout the event and Safe Management Measures (SMMs) were in place to safeguard the health and safety of all participants. This included having a capacity limit of 1,000 runners for each session and splitting the runners into groups of 500, and again waves of 50 with three runners being released every 10 seconds. Each participant also had to take a self-administered Antigen Rapid Test (ART).
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| Keith Tan, Lim Teck Yin, Edwin Tong, Jeff Edwards and Sharon Lee |
Speaking after crossing the finish line first in the 5KM category, national athlete Thiruben S/O Thana Rajan said: “I have grown up together with this event and seeing how it has evolved today was just an incredible feeling. The organisers also did a great job in maintaining the SMMs today. There were a lot of gaps between each wave of runners and we were released in groups of three – that made me feel safe.”
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| Runner jumping for joy as he crosses the finish line |
Lim Teck Yin, Chief Executive Officer, Sport Singapore said, “After a year’s hiatus we have passed a major milestone and successfully staged a major in-person event. Seeing the event completed in a safe manner and in compliance with safe management measures proves that in-person mass participation events are possible in the current situation with some level of restrictions. I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the participants who ran in the event and to the organisers who worked tirelessly to make it possible. We really hope that this weekend marks a turning point in our efforts to Bring Sport Back safely!”
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| Family of three generations in Ekiden category |
This year also marked Standard Chartered Bank’s 20-year title sponsorship of Singapore’s iconic running event. In addition to designing a 20-year celebratory t-shirt for participants of the Grand Finale, the special occasion was also celebrated with a live broadcast on Channel 5 on 4 December. The broadcast featured the heritage of the Singapore marathon and highlighted memorable moments and stories of those who have been part of the incredible journey.
A live telecast of the 5KM flag-off – featuring Speaker of Parliament Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Team Singapore athletes, runners from inclusive running club Runninghour, and SG Cares – was also shown.
On the sponsorship celebration, Santoz Kumar, General Manager, Singapore, The IRONMAN Group, said, “What a journey! Two decades is a very long-time, and over the time, the race has multiplied significantly and has become a truly world-class running event. We would like to thank Standard Chartered Bank and all our partners for supporting this journey to help us create a race that’s here for the community to run.”
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| Runners on all smiles as in person running event returns |
The Grand Finale will continue with the VR Grand Finale categories which end on 12 December. Interested participants can still sign up for free and be part in one or more of the following categories:
- SCSM VR Marathon
- SCSM VR Grand Finale 10KM
- SCSM VR Grand Finale 5KM
- SCSM VR Half Marathon
- SCSM Kids VR 1.5KM
- SCSM Kids VR 3KM
Follow the race:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SGMarathon
Instagram: @sgMarathon
Twitter: @SG_Marathon
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