Sentayehu Merga Ejigu from Ethiopia Wins Hong Kong Marathon

The 19th Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon took place on Sunday (25 January 2015).

For the first time ever, runners sprinted to the finishing line along Hennessy Road, spurred on by animated cheering from supporters lining this major street in Causeway Bay.

The Hennessy Road route enabled more members of the public to witness this world-class sporting event and experience the marathon spirit to the full.

Nearly 30 keen Gold Label runners took their first strides along Nathan Road once the starting-gun had been fired by the Honourable Mrs. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Carrie, Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Competition was fierce in the men’s race until Sentayehu Merga Ejigu from Ethiopia broke away at 32km. He went on to clock 02:13:00 amidst cheering supporters and claim the men’s champion’s title, as well as pocketing US$65,000 in prize money.

“It was a bit windy at times but I was very happy with the course and to won my first championship title in Hong Kong,” he said after the race.

In the women’s race, Democratic People's Republic of Korea runner Kim Hye Gyong showed stamina and perseverance despite being unable to break away from the other Gold Label runners until the last kilometre. She crossed the finishing line in 02:31:46 to be crowned the women’s Marathon Challenge champion, as well as the champion of the women’s category of the 15th Asian Marathon Championships.

Hong Kong representative Yiu Kit Ching finished 19th in 02:45:45. Shingo Igarashi from Japan, the favourite in the category, took the men’s Asian title with a time of 02:14:29.

Li Shao Zhuang of China won the men’s Half Marathon race in 01:10:44. Australian runner Ellie O’Kane finished first in the women’s Half Marathon in 01:19:17.

The winner of the 10KM race could not be determined until the last minutes of the race, when Lo Ching Hin of Hong Kong passed fellow runners to finish first in 00:33:17. In the women’s race, Hong Kong runner Kong Lai Ming won the champion’s title in 00:38:33.

Mr. Kwan Kee, Chairman of the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association, said, “We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the government and also to the community for their unfailing support. Without it, the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2015 could not have been run so smoothly. The new inclusion of the Hennessy Road is one of the major improvement this year which definitely enhanced the quality of the race. As the organiser, we will continue our best efforts to provide a better competition environment for runners in the future. I hope to see you all again next year for our 20th anniversary.”

Ms. May Tan, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, added, “We look forward to working with the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association to allow even more people to experience the Marathon spirit next year, when we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of this international sporting event.”