Brunei Darussalam’s renowned runner Sefli Anak Ahar added another feather to his cap after securing second place in the men’s overall 50-kilometre (km) event at The Most Beautiful Thing (TMBT) Ultra-Trail Marathon 2023 in Sabah, Malaysia yesterday.
The long-distance running specialist clocked a time of 06:20:23s behind eventual winner Philippines’ John Ray Onifa, who registered a time of 05:27:46s, and ahead of Malaysia’s Yasbie Ismail who posted a time of 06:30:46s.
Sefli – arguably the country’s most accomplished marathoner- also topped his age group in the men’s veteran category, ahead of his nearest rival Malaysia’s Zaidy Yahaya who was the 22nd finisher overall.
Meanwhile in the 30km category, Brunei experienced runner Shamsuleffandy bin Haji Sulaiman sealed second place after recording a time of 04:36:13s. He was also second in the Men’s Veteran category behind the eventual and overall champion Spain’s Josep Roura Farrarons who posted a time of 04:34:23s.
Brunei’s Ahhoonyohanes completed the podium in third place after finishing with a time of 04:37:04s.
Ahhoonyohanes won the men under-45 category ahead of Malaysia’s Joe Tanggaron Joe and Brunei’s Muhammad Ajmal Azman Sudin in second and third place, respectively.
The country was well represented in the top 10 of the 30km event with Shahrul Nizam finishing sixth overall and Mohd Soffyhairrol Azami bin Haji Abdul Momin completing in 10th.
Brunei’s Vincent Lim won the men’s veteran category and 14th overall in the 12km event.
In the 50km event, Brunei’s Hidayat Metussin finished seventh overall after posting a time of 07:44:30 and placed fifth in the Men under-45 category.
His compatriot Mohammad Zulfadly bin Abdul Rahim Shah finished 11th and eighth in the men under-45 category.
Dozens of Bruneians participated in the ultra trail event across several categories such as the 100km, 50km, 30km, 12km and 7.5km, and the 37km Night Challenge. – Fadhil Yunus
