Lim (centre) poses with other top finishers at the Borneo 100 multi-sport festival in Sematan.
KUCHING (June 23): National multi-sport athlete Martyn Lim Wen Xuan from Sarawak produced a commanding display to emerge overall champion at the Borneo100 Triathlon 2026 event held in Sematan over the weekend.
He crossed the finish line with a time of 3 hours 51 minutes and 00 seconds to lead an all-Malaysian sweep of the men’s overall podium.
The men’s race developed into an intense duel between Lim and Yap Qi Yi in the 18–29 age category. Yap stayed within striking distance after the swim, trailing Lim by only three seconds before producing the fastest first transition (T1) of 1 min 21 sec.
He then surged ahead on the cycling leg with the fastest bike split of the day at 2:03:14 to place himself in contention for the overall crown.
However, Lim proved strongest on the run segment, clocking a blistering 1:18:26 split whch is the only sub-1:20 run among the leading contenders to pull away decisively and seal victory by four min and 30 secs.
Yap settled for second overall with a time of 3:55:30 while Thiang Chong Yoong finished third in 4:06:08 and also emerged champion in the men’s 30–39 category.
Shahrom Abdullah placed fourth overall in 4:06:36 followed by Hoa Yhee Fei in fifth with 4:10:57.
In the women’s division, Singapore’s Choo Ling Er finished sixth overall with a time of 4:11:19.
Competing in the women’s 30–39 category, Choo dominated the field from the early stages after recording a strong swim split of 30:20 before maintaining her advantage with a 2:09:12 cycling segment.
Singapore secured a one-two finish in the women’s standings as Elaine Young came in second with 4:31:24 while Malaysia’s Chew Huey Ming completed the top three in 4:32:57.
The event also saw strong performances across the veteran categories and international field.
Jong Wei Keong topped the men’s 50–59 division with a time of 4:40:14 to finish 15th overall while Cheong Hon Wai claimed the men’s 60 and above title in 5:32:07.
Indonesia’s Bastian Tio impressed with a seventh-place overall finish in 4:13:45 while the United Kingdom’s Lois Gaden won the women’s 18–29 category in 5:13:32, aided by a remarkable run split of 1:28:05.
Competitors from Brunei, Italy, Denmark, Japan and Russia also featured prominently in the top 50 overall standings.
Despite the demanding tropical conditions, the top 50 competitors all completed the race in under 5 hours and 36 minutes.
Born in 2000, Lim who is from Kuching is among Malaysia’s leading elite multi-sport athletes specialising in triathlon and duathlon and a regular member of the national triathlon camp.
He recently helped Malaysia clinch the mixed team relay title at the 2026 World Triathlon Development Regional Cup in Kampar alongside Sara Joy Chen, Yap Qi Yi and Esther Joy Chen.
Lim also represented Malaysia at the 2025 SEA Games in Rayong, Thailand, where he secured bronze medals in both the men’s duathlon team relay and mixed relay events.
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