Bali. Marathon rookie Rikki Marthin Luther Simbolon on Sunday emerged as the winner of the men’s marathon national open category at the long-awaited Maybank Marathon 2022, even defeating SEA Games gold medalist Agus Prayogo. 

Rikki’s victory came as a surprise as he was fighting against a seasoned marathon runner. Rikki hit the finish line at 2:34:49 after running a 42.195-kilometer-race. Shortly after that, Agus finished the race at 2:35:17.  Rikki said he was surprised to see himself on the first spot of the podium, given that he didn’t make any special preparation.

"I actually didn't expect to win. Because of course, as runners, we were aware of our opponent's strength," he told reporters.

Rikki shared more details about going against Agus at the Maybank Marathon 2022.

Rikki said he and Agus were running close to one another for the most part of the marathon course, which had a peak elevation of 119 meters at 35.43 kilometers. Rikki then began speeding up when he ran downhill at around the 40 kilometer-mark of the course. 

Maybank Marathon 2022 marked Rikki’s second-ever marathon. His first time was the Indonesia International Marathon 2022 where he came in second place after Agus. Rikki scored a finish time of 2:37:39.

“I actually recorded my personal best here at the Maybank Marathon 2022. Hopefully, I can participate again and score a better finish time next year,” Rikki said. 

"And along the marathon course, we had school children dancing and cheering for the runners. This really motivated us," he added. 

Rikki took home Rp 125 million (about $8,435) in cash prize for winning Maybank Marathon 2022.