GEORGE TOWN, Dec 17 — A married couple serving in the army and police, topped the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) for the second time together, sweeping the Malaysian men’s and women’s categories in the run that took place this morning.

The victory saw Noor Amelia Musa, 37, and Nik Fakaruddin Ismail, 38, taking home cash prizes of RM10,000 along with trophies.

Noor Amelia, who is a police officer at the Kuala Lumpur Police Training Centre (Pulapol) recorded a winning time of 3 hours 14 minutes 36 seconds over a distance of 42 kilometres, while her husband, who is in the army (TDM) at Camp 74 Workshop of the Sungai Besi Division, finished the men’s distance in a record time of 2hrs 43mins 57.0s.

Nik Fakaruddin said today’s victory was his fifth, after having won four times in a row in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, but last year he did not join the bridge run because he was involved with the selection to represent Malaysia at the SEA Games in the men’s duathlon event.

"As a couple, this is the second time we won together in the full marathon event (Malaysian women's and men's category) after the first time in 2019...To win as a couple is not an easy thing and rarely happens so of course I am very happy and excited.

"In the first 10 km, I had to run hard because I was challenged by some other runners who are really strong in this event, but my strategy was to make a move early to break away from the group and managed to be in a comfortable position after seven km and managed to maintain the momentum until the finish line,” he said, claiming he had prepared for the PBIM for almost seven months.

Meanwhile, Noor Amelia, who started participating in the PBIM since 2018, said that this was her third victory after 2019 and 2022 while she was happy when she recorded a better time than before even though there was not enough time to prepare.

"Two weeks ago, I had already run a marathon in Langkawi, so for this PBIM I lacked preparation, however, I am grateful and happy that I still won,” she said.

In the meantime, Penang Tourism and Creative Economy exco Wong Hon Wai said the PBIM 2023 had successfully attracted 20,000 runners from all over Malaysia and 60 other countries.

"This event not only promotes a healthy and active lifestyle but also fosters community spirit across borders as well as unity, which can be seen through participation from various backgrounds,” he said. — Bernama