{"id":4202,"date":"2026-10-23T05:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T05:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/?p=4202"},"modified":"2026-10-23T05:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T05:48:18","slug":"alex-june-markov-eon-climbathon-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/?p=4202","title":{"rendered":"Alex, June, Markov won Climbathon race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KUNDASANG: 18 October 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Alex Oberbacher of Italy won the Men\u2019s Elite title at the 33rd Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon in 3:20.54, while June Villaroel of Spain won the Women\u2019s Elite title in 4:09.14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Markov Evegenii of Russia won the Men\u2019s Veteran title in 3:29.11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 24.5km race began at 6.30am, with Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin flagging off the runners. They raced to the 4,095.2-metre summit before descending to the finish line at Kinabalu Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The event attracted runners from 26 countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Italy, Russia, Spain, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The international field included athletes competing in the Merrell Skyrunner\u00ae World Series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex described the race as challenging but rewarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe landscape is so nice, especially at the top where you can see the rocks. It was very hard and a very long climb, reaching 4,095.2 metres, but it was a really good experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that his six-day stay in Sabah gave him time to explore the surrounding area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve travelled a long way to be here and I have six days, so I have time to see a little bit of the things around here. It\u2019s really, really nice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June said she had not expected to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt feels very crazy. I didn\u2019t expect it, so it feels amazing. I cannot believe it yet, and I\u2019m so happy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said she hoped to return to Sabah after her week-long stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSabah is amazing. I didn\u2019t really have the chance to know it as I was only here for a week, but I really want to come back already. It\u2019s super beautiful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Markov, who finished seventh overall in 2025, said his experience in skyrunning, mountain races in Russia and winter ski mountaineering had prepared him for the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe course is very extreme in terms of the terrain. I don\u2019t remember many courses this difficult in my experience, but I love extreme conditions, especially the descents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said representing Russia gave him extra motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt gives me additional motivation and greater competition. I also represent my country, which adds extra responsibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Markov said he hoped to return to Mount Kinabalu with his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast year I came here and finished seventh overall. I want to come back here again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you for creating this celebration of skyrunning in the park,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course, I want to come here again and again, but next time with my family. Come here, definitely. You will like the atmosphere, the course and the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jafry said the event reflected Sabah\u2019s growing reputation as a destination for international sporting events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe success of this year\u2019s Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon reflects Sabah\u2019s growing reputation as a destination for international sporting events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are honoured to welcome athletes from 26 countries, including some of the leading names in the Merrell Skyrunner\u00ae World Series, to compete on Mount Kinabalu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the same time, we are proud to see our Malaysian and Sabahan runners taking on this challenge alongside international competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvents like the Climbathon give our athletes the opportunity to compete at a higher level while allowing us to share the beauty of Sabah with visitors from around the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hope to see more international sporting events of this calibre take place in Sabah, as they provide valuable opportunities to showcase our state to a global audience and further strengthen Sabah\u2019s position as an adventure and sports tourism destination,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top three results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men\u2019s Elite 1st \u2013 Alex Oberbacher, Italy, 3:20.54 2nd \u2013 Daniel Antonioli, Italy, 3:23.46 3rd \u2013 Shoma Otagiri, Japan, 3:29.54<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Elite 1st \u2013 June Villaroel, Spain, 4:09.14 2nd \u2013 Svetlana Nurmukhametova, Russia, 4:18.45 3rd \u2013 Vanja Cnops, Belgium, 4:42.19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men\u2019s Veteran 1st \u2013 Markov Evegenii, Russia, 3:29.11 2nd \u2013 Ivan Vlasenko, Russia, 3:51.02 3rd \u2013 Daved Simpat, Malaysia, 3:52.21<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KUNDASANG: 18 October 2026 Alex Oberbacher of Italy won the Men\u2019s Elite title at the 33rd Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon in 3:20.54, while June Villaroel of Spain won the Women\u2019s Elite title in 4:09.14. Markov Evegenii of Russia won the Men\u2019s Veteran title in 3:29.11. The 24.5km race began at 6.30am, with Tourism, Culture and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261023-WA0007.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4203,"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4202\/revisions\/4203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holidaysabah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}