AHEAD of the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) 2019, which is set to take place early this Sunday, its ambassador Bernard Lagat came to pay a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow at Komtar today.
The 44-year-old Kenyan-American middle and long distance runner spent almost 30 minutes at Chow’s office.
“I am proud to be ambassador for the run this year. I’m looking forward to experiencing the culture, food and sightseeing that Penang has to offer and of course, cheering for the runners.
“I am excited to be there with you all on this Sunday,” the 13-time medallist in World Championships and Olympics, including five gold medals, said.
Lagat is a five-time Olympian, having competed in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Games (the first two for Kenya, the last three for USA).
He was also a double gold medallist in Osaka World Championships in 2007 over 1,500m and 5,000m.
His personal best for the marathon is 2:12:10 which he set at the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia this year.
Chow later presented a book, featuring Penang, to Lagat as a souvenir.
He is proud that PBIM has picked Lagat, with his strong credentials, as its ambassador for the run.
Both of them also shared their views on the PBIM 2019 before posing for a photo after the session.
Also present were state Tourism Development, Heritage, Culture and Arts Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, PBIM project director Grace Teoh and Lagat’s manager James Templeton.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi