The Angkor Wat Marathons are the annual marathons held in Angkor, Cambodia. There are two marathons from Angkor recognised by the Association of International Marathons and Road Races namely Angkor Wat International Half Marathon and Angkor Empire Marathon.[1] Angkor Wat International Half marathon has been held annually since 1996. Angkor Empire Marathon is the first full marathon from Cambodia held since 2014.[2][3] The event is organized by National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC). According to its official website, the purpose of the event is to "support a ban on the manufacture and inhumane use of antipersonnel mines".[4][5]

Angkor Wat Marathons
Logo of Angkor Wat International Half Marathon
Dateearly December
LocationAngkor, Cambodia
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon, half marathon
Established1996 (Half marathon)
2014 (Marathon)
Official siteAngkor Wat Marathons
Participants2,555 (2019)
2,906 (2018)

Angkor Wat International Half Marathon

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Japanese Olympian Yuko Arimori organized the first Angkor Marathon in 1996.

The Angkor Wat International Half Marathon was first organized in 1996 by Yuko Arimori, the first Japanese woman to win a marathon medal in the Olympics.[5] The motto of the marathon is "Building a better future. Aid for the children and disabled in Cambodia". It is organized by National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, Association of Athletics Federations Cambodia and Cambodian Events Organizer Co. Ltd. The marathon is recognized by Association of International Marathons and Road Races and the Association of Athletics Federations Cambodia (Khmer AAF). It is supported by the government of Cambodia, the Embassy of Japan in Cambodia, the United Nations Population Fund, and several other organizations.[4]

The first edition of the International Half Marathon in 1996 saw just 654 participants from 14 countries. Since then participation in the event has steadily increased. In the 2014 event, nearly 8,000 runners from 78 countries participated. The 2019 edition will be held in December.[5]

List of winners

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Key:   Course record

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 1996   Zhan Donglin (CHN) 1:05:18   Wang Xiujie (CHN) 1:12:27
2nd 1997 Winner not available   Win-Win Mar (MYA) 1:15:18
3rd 1998   Yumiko Otsuka (JPN) 1:15:18
4th 1999   Thị Hoa Nguyễn (VIE) 1:30:17
5th 2000   Hiromi Suzuki (JPN) 1:15:03
6th 2001   Makoto Sasaki (JPN) 1:10:38   Yuko Machida (JPN) 1:19:54
7th 2002 Winner not available Winner not available
8th 2003
9th 2004   Hem Bunting (CAM) 1:14:32
10th 2005   Hem Bunting (CAM) 1:10:43
11th 2006   Hem Bunting (CAM) 1:12:25   Wakana Akimoto (JPN) 1:26:52
12th 2007   Tony Seakins (GBR) 1:18:58   Mika Kume (JPN) 1:34:26
13th 2008   Hem Bunting (CAM) 1:13:53   Vivian Tang (SGP) n/a
14th 2009   Lim Kien Mau (MYS) 1:13:26   Vivian Tang (SGP) 1:24:00
15th 2010   Hem Bunting (CAM) 1:10:11   Satoko Uetani (JPN) 1:22:31
16th 2011   Henrik Jannborg (SWE) 1:13:02   Jenny Lundgren (SWE) 1:25:15
17th 2012   Joji Mori (AUS) 1:14:55   Jenny Lundgren (SWE) 1:25:45
18th 2013   Minoru Onozuka (JPN) 1:16:10   Vivian Tang (SGP) 1:27:82
19th 2014   Ma Viro (CAM) 1:16:10   Vivian Tang (SGP) 1:28:06
20th 2015   Fraser Thompson (AUS) 1:12:19   Phap Sopheak (CAM) 1:23:43
21st 2016   Bian Qi (CHN) 1:13:16   Danielle Hodgkinson (GBR) 1:23:09
22nd 2017   Bian Qi (CHN) 1:12:42   Máire Nic Amhlaoibh (IRE) 1:28:42
23rd 2018   Valentin Cuzzucoli (FRA) 1:17:18   Rebecca Rosel (AUS) 1:28:46
24th 2019   Saeki Makino (JPN) 1:07:34   Máire Nic Amhlaoibh (IRE) 1:24:55
25th 2022   Farit Ouk (CAM) 1:18:24   Nicole Distler (DEU) 1:40:16
26th 2023   Neko Hiroshi (CAM) 1:25:30   Yuko Tanimura (JPN) 1:29:25

Angkor Empire Marathon

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Logo of Angkor Empire Marathon

The full length marathon was introduced in 2014. It is the first full marathon (42 km) in Cambodia,[2] and is organized and supported by same agencies as the half marathon. Over 2000 participants from 48 countries participated in the 2015 edition of marathon. Angkor Hospital for Children, Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital, and the Cambodian Red Cross are beneficiaries of the Angkor Empire Marathon.[2][6][7] Neko Hiroshi, a Japanese native and naturalized Cambodian citizen, was the first winner of Empire marathon in 2014, while Japanese runner Koki Kawauchi was the winner of the 2015 edition. Sakie Ishiba Shi, also of Japan, won the women's full marathon in 2015. The 2015 edition held in August saw around 2,200 participants.[2][8]

List of winners

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Key:   Course record

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 2014   Neko Hiroshi (CAM) 2:45:28   Veronique Messina (FRA) 3:36:04
2nd 2015   Koki Kawauchi (JPN) 2:36:58   Sakie Ishibashi (JPN) 2:59:12
3rd 2016   Jeff Chaseling (AUS) 2:49:56   Erina Nakai (JPN) 3:19:34
4th 2017   Neil Burns (GBR) 3:08:08   Carlota Corbella (ESP) 3:19:03
5th 2018   Ma Viro (CAM) 2:56:24   Jill Hamill (GBR) 3:06:59
6th 2019   Neko Hiroshi (CAM) 2:43:07   Shi Hongxia (CHN) 3:33:49
7th 2022   Sam Rachna (CAM) 3:26:09   Elaine Lee (HKG) 3:37:11
8th 2023   Van Long Nguyen (VNM) 2:51:12   Thi Duong Nguyen (VNM) 3:21:32

Marathon course

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Angkor Wat is the site where marathon starts and ends.

The Marathon starts and ends at the Angkor Wat temple complex, a World Heritage Site. Other important spots over course of run are the Angkor Archaeological Park, Preah Prom Rath pagoda, and several other temples.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "AIMS – Calendar of Races". Aimsworldrunning.org. Archived from the original on 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  2. ^ a b c d H S Manjunath (2015-08-10). "Japanese runners dominate Angkor Empire Marathon, Sport, Phnom Penh Post". Phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  3. ^ H S Manjunath (2014-08-06). "Interest growing for Angkor Wat marathon, Sport, Phnom Penh Post". Phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  4. ^ a b "Site: angkormarathon.org – home". angkormarathon.org. Archived from the original on 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  5. ^ a b c "Cambodian wins Angkor Wat marathon". Bangkok Post. 2014-12-07. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  6. ^ "Angkor Empire Half and Full Marathon". Angkorempiremarathon.org. 2015-08-09. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  7. ^ a b Tuesday, 03 November 2015 13:09:32 GMT (ICT). "Sunday's Angkor Empire Marathon to Draw 2,200 Runners | Khmer Times | News Portal Cambodia |". Khmertimeskh.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ H S Manjunath (2014-08-18). "Neko Hiroshi runs away with Angkor marathon, Sport, Phnom Penh Post". Phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.