December 7, 2014 - The “2014 Macau Galaxy Entertainment International Marathon” took place on Sunday morning, attracting tremendous support from 6,000 running enthusiasts from local and overseas regions. Kenya’s Julius Kiplimo Maisei was the first runner finishing the distance length of 42 kilometers and 195 meters in 2:14:45 and scooping the men’s title whereas Flomena Chepchirchir Chumba also from Kenya won the race with a clocking of 2:33:24 in the women’s event.

This year marks the eleventh consecutive year for Galaxy Entertainment Group (“GEG”) to be the title sponsor of this international event, and the tenth year in a row to garner the Marathon’s Group Trophy, demonstrating GEG’s commitment to facilitating local sporting events and its team members’ passion for sports.

The annual long run was kicked off with horn blasts by Mr. José Maria da Fonseca Tavares, President of Macau Sport Development Board, Mr. Ma Iao Hang, President of Macau Athletic Association, together with Mr. Francis Lui, Vice Chairman of GEG and Dr. Jorge Neto Valente, Group Advisor of GEG. Mr. Francis Lui said, “GEG’s elevenyear title sponsorship of Macau International Marathon is a proof of our dedication to promoting the development of sport in Macau. We are very delighted that the annual event has received enthusiastic support from local and overseas runners. GEG will continue to spare no effort in encouraging the general public to do exercise and advocating Marathon spirit of persistence. We also encourage our team member to maintain a healthy lifestyle by doing regular exercises.”

Among the GEG runners were some of the senior executives, enjoying the fun of long distance running and trying to challenge themselves. Alongside the race route stood some of the GEG team members sending cheers and voluntarily handing out drinks not only to the GEG runners but also to other athletes passing by, exhibiting GEG’s spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation. With the great support from their colleagues, the GEG runners completed the long run successfully to take home the Marathon’s Group Trophy.

Shanti Devi Adhikari, Tek Paudel KC and Megha Limbu from GEG’s security department joined the Mini Marathon and took home the first runner up titles at women’s Category-B, the second runner up at men’s Category-C and the fourth place at men’s Category-B respectively. Shanti said, “I have joined the race for the tenth year and I am excited to have won the Marathon title, for me, running Marathon is challenging but exhilarating. I would like to express my gratitude to GEG and my colleagues for their cheering. I wish I can break my own record in next year’s Marathon.”

This international marathon, first hosted in 1981 with only 400 participants, has come to its 33rd edition this year, receiving overwhelming response from 6,000 runners, with 1,000 joining Full Marathon, 2,000 for Half Marathon and 3,000 for Mini Marathon. All quotas for three categories were taken up shortly after the registration started. The race continued to offer its participants a chance to experience Macau’s unique culture and fascinating scenery while they running towards the goal persistently, and next year, the reveal of Galaxy Macau™ Phase 2 will add more excitement to the already stunning course. As in previous years, GEG rewarded the fastest local and invited athletes in Full Marathon with big prizes for their outstanding performance.