TAWAU, The Tawau Marathon has been proposed to be included into Sabah’s tourism calendar due to its potential to be a new tourism product and brand for Tawau.
Sabah Assistant Industry Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy said the organisation of the inaugural Tawau Marathon had created history with over 2,000 participants from 15 countries, including Kenya and Vietnam.
“We will improve the event to become a brand or sports tourism product in the future with the support of all parties,’ he said during the officiation of the Tawau Marathon 2024 at Padang Bandaran Tawau here today.
Local mountain porter Wilson Singgin won the Men’s Open category with a time of 3 hours 13 minutes while Vietnamese Cahg Nong won the Women’s Open category with a time of 3 hours 25 minutes.
Kenyan runner Denis Isika was the quickest in the Men’s Veteran category with a time of 2 hours 52 minutes while Vietnames Hien Ngu Yen won the Women’s Veteran category with a time of 3 hours 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, Tawau Runners Club chairman Dulmi Mular was optimistic that the event would be an annual affair, pointing out that there was various positive effects from the run, which would also generate the local economy.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency