KUALA LUMPUR (30 June 2026) – Malaysia Athletics, the national governing body for athletics, announced today that the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) will be the official preliminary selection event for the marathon category for SEA Games 2027.
This announcement was made by Malaysia Athletics Deputy President Dato’ Wan Hisham Wan Salleh at the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding with Dirigo Events, the rights holder and organiser of the KLSCM.
The event was held at Wisma OCM and the agreement was signed by Dato’ Wan Hisham and Rainer Biemans - who is Dirigo Events director and project director of the KLSCM. Also in attendance as witnesses to the signing ceremony were Fong Wan Hor, Chief Executive Officer of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, and Zaim Yusof, Director of the National Sports Council’s Athlete Division.
Malaysia Athletics is taking a more proactive, athlete-first approach to national team preparations to give Malaysian athletes better clarity and preparation time, with the aim of increasing their chances of bringing home medals at SEA Games 2027.
“Malaysia has marathon talents that can be further nurtured and we are exploring structured and better planned pathways to take them to the next level. We are also looking forward to uncovering new talents with potential in the process,” said Dato’ Wan Hisham.
“We at Malaysia Athletics are keen on increasing and supporting the presence of our Malaysian marathon athletes on the international stage. We recognise their efforts, determination and grit in their pursuit of excellence to date and we hope to aid them further in their training all year round with established goals, taking into account their development and performance,” he added.
KLSCM is the first and only road race in Malaysia with a World Athletics Elite Label with KLSCM 2026 set to be held on 3 and 4 October 2026. It is an international event that draws participants from all over Malaysia and over 70 countries including SEA Games runners from neighbouring countries.
“We are very honoured that KLSCM has been selected to be the official preliminary selection event - this is a significant milestone in Malaysian athletics and one that is in line with our organisation’s mission and objectives. Dirigo Events has always been committed to improving and elevating the standards of distance running in Malaysia and giving runners in Malaysia world-class events for them to shine in,” said Biemans.
“We are excited to be able to work hand-in-hand with Malaysia Athletics to help the country stand tall as the proud host of the SEA Games in 2027. This marks the first step in a long collaboration in building development and sustainability in the sport for the athletes and the industry,” he expounded.
The MOU between Malaysia Athletics and Dirigo Events will include cooperation measures, including providing athletes with a more structured development programme and race exposure both regionally and internationally; access to facilities and sports science services under the National Sports Institute and collaborative programmes in coaching. Both parties will be meeting again to draw up the more specific details of this agreement.
For more information, please visit the KLSCM website at www.kl-marathon.com or its social media pages at:
