Posted: October 28, 2004

Athletics: Fustus Kioko in the lead after the first leg of the Greatest Race On Earth

In gruelling conditions, Fustus Kioko from Kenya, representing team Rosa 2, won the first leg of the Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth in Nairobi, achieving a time of 2:14:08. Cheered on by a patriotic crowd, Kioko edged home ahead of Peter Ndegwa, who was second in a time of 2:14:35 and Cleophas Rop who was third in a time of 2:15:08.

The growing importance of the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon was highlighted by the appearance of the Kenyan President, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki to officially start this year's race. Local heroes, World Marathon record holder Paul Tergat and Tegla Laroupe, also showed their support of the event by participating in the10km race.

The Nairobi Marathon itself was won by Kenyan, Benjamin Kipchumba Kemboi in a time of 2:11:50, which is without doubt world class considering the high altitude and undulating nature of the course. With Greatest Race runners Fustus Kioko, Peter Ndegwa and Cleophas Rop occupying the 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions respectively, it is clear that the Challenge is going to be keenly contested all the way to the finale in Hong Kong in February 2005.

Running the first leg for the all female elite team - sponsored by Standard Chartered was Delilah Asiago who finished a magnificent third in the Women's Marathon in a time of 2:45:16.

The first National team to cross the line was Kenya, represented by Dominic Lagat in a time of 2:20:34. This places them at the top of the Nations Challenge, ahead of Qatar, three minutes, 34 seconds behind, and leaves them lying eighth in the Main Challenge.

Leading the way in the Individual Challenge is Cleophas Rop who was also running as part of the BMMAC ( C ) team. With USD $100,000 on offer to the overall winner, Rop is going to be challenged strongly over the next three legs of the Greatest Race and will need to show outstanding resources of stamina and willpower to retain first place.

A total of 19 professional teams, 24 National Athletic Association teams, 16 Standard Chartered Bank employee teams and 12 individual runners lined up at the start for the first leg of the Greatest Race. The mixture of exotic location, challenging conditions and a significant prize pool, in excess of USD $1 million attracted athletes of the highest calibre.

In total 10,000 athletes took part in the events taking place over the weekend. These included, Half Marathon, 10K Road Race, Wheelchair Race, Corporate Team Challenge and the family fun run. The growth of the Nairobi Marathon since its inception in 2003 is testament to the obsession with distance running that grips Kenya.

Greatest Race on Earth Results - Leg 1: Nairobi Marathon
Main Challenge (open to all teams)
Position        Name    Team Name       Time (hrs:min:sec)     
1.      Fustus Kioko    Rosa 2  2:14:08
2       Peter Ndegwa    Marathon Wizzards       2:14:35
3.      Cleophas Rop    BMMAC ( C )     2:15:08
4.      Martin Longuran BMMAC ( A )     2:16:07
5.      Stephen Ndungu  PACE Sports Management  2:17:21
6.      Kenneth Tuwei   I.S.A.  2:18:31
7.      Julius Mutai    New Line DK     2:19:34
8.      Dominic Lagat   Kenya National  2:20:34
9.      David Ngetich   Africa East     2:21:31
10.     Mashack Maweu   Posso 1 2:21:59
11.     Jumah Al Noor   Qatar National  2:24:08
12.     Pual Atudonyang Sports Promotion        2:26:50
13.     Marko Mambo     Zimbabwe National       2:27:28
14.     Suleiman Kihagi Posso 2 2:28:50
15.     Medson Chibwe   Zambia National 2:29:02

Nations Challenge (Open to National Associations only)

Position        Name    National Association    Time (hrs:min:sec)     
1.      Dominic Lagat   Kenya   2:20:34
2       Jumah Al Noor   Qatar   2:24:08
3.      Marko Mambo     Zimbabwe        2:27:28
4.      Medson Chibwe   Zambia  2:29:02
5.      Raobene Ramoseka        Botswana        2:30:44
6.      KC Ramu India   2:32:42
7.      David Buzza     UK      2:33:23
8.      Wen-Chien Wu    Taiwan  2:37:47
9.      Sutat Kallayanakitti    Thailand        2:41:06
10.     Reynaldo Reyes  Philippines     2:41:40

Individual Challenge

Position        Name    Nationality     Time (hrs:min:sec)     
1.      Cleophas Rop    Kenya   2:15:08
2       Martin Longuran Kenya   2:16:07
3.      Stephen Ndungu  Kenya   2:17:21
4.      Samuel Okemwa   Kenya   2:27:45
5.      William Limo    Kenya   2:28:01
6.      Simon Ripis     Kenya   2:28:05
7.      Moges Taye      Ethiopia        2:29:16
8.      Michael Mpotoane        South Africa    2:32:26
9.      Thomas Magut    Kenya   2:32:36
10.     David Buzza     United Kingdom  2:33:23

The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth Marathons

Last year, about 70,000 people ran in Standard Chartered sponsored marathons in four major cities. In 2005, Standard Chartered Bank is proud to be title sponsor of marathons in six major cities across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The marathons characterise the values and attitude that Standard Chartered believes in, and lives by everyday - a "can-do" attitude, a priority on strength of trust, willpower, stamina, and the determination to "go the distance".

This year, Standard Chartered presents The Greatest Race on Earth, a challenging virtual relay race across the Bank's four established marathons.

·       In Nairobi on 24 October 2004 
·       In Singapore on 5 December 2004 
·       In Mumbai on 16 January 2005 
·       In Hong Kong on 27 February 2005 

3 competition categories

Main (open to all) Prize pool of USD 1 million prize pool - fastest combined time of four runners across all four events (one runner per team per race); top prize of USD 400,000; prizes to 15th place

Individual USD 100,000 Winner Takes all prize for fastest individual time across all four events

Nations Prize pool of USD 145,000 - fastest National Athletics Association-fielded team time of four runners in all four events (one runner per team per race); top prize of USD 70,000; prizes for the top three

Charity ties - including the Bank's own global initiative, 'Seeing is Believing' - means that every step raises money to help make a difference in people's lives. Henry Wanyoike, a blind distance runner and world record holder in the 10km for the visually impaired, will run in all four of the races. Standard Chartered will match public donations, up to USD 1,000 for every kilometre he runs to Seeing is Believing.

Standard Chartered - leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East

Standard Chartered employs 30,000 people in over 500 locations in more than 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas. It is one of the world's most international banks, with a management team comprising 70 nationalities.

Standard Chartered is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is in the top 25 FTSE-100 companies, by market capitalisation.

It serves both Consumer and Wholesale Banking customers. Consumer Banking provides credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, deposit taking and wealth management services to individuals and small to medium sized enterprises. Wholesale Banking provides corporate and institutional clients with services in trade finance, cash management, lending, security services, foreign exchange, debt capital markets and corporate finance.

Standard Chartered is well-established in growth markets and aims to be the right partner for its customers. The Bank combines deep local knowledge with global capability.

The Bank is trusted across its network for its standard of governance and its commitment to making a difference in the communities in which it operates.