Singapore, February 25, 2023: The Singapore sports community welcomed the Asian Games Fun Run to the “garden city” on Saturday morning.
Almost 1,000 athletes, sports officials, friends and families gathered at the Singapore Sports Hub for a mass warm-up exercise before the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council, Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin, flagged off the race.
The VIP podium also included representatives from the Olympic Council of Asia and Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee as they welcomed Singapore to the Fun Run circuit for the first time since the Asian Games promotional event was launched in 2004.
“We are very happy to be in Singapore for the first time to celebrate the Asian Games Fun Run,” said the OCA’s Projects and Operations Manager, Wissam Trkmani.
“We would like to thank the Singapore National Olympic Council for all their hard work in organising this event, which has attracted almost 1,000 participants. This highlights the enthusiasm for sports and for the Asian Games in Singapore.
“We would also like to thank our partners from the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee and especially the marketing department for creating a special community atmosphere here in which everyone can feel part of the Asian Games.”
These activities included a “Dreams Drop Box” in which participants could write their hopes and dreams for Hangzhou and also a flag-signing opportunity to show their support. The presence of the three Asian Games mascots provided a perfect photo opportunity for young and older, and OCA medals were presented to all runners as a keepsake.
The opening ceremony also included the presentation of two Maliu folk embroidery pieces to the Singapore NOC by two students from Asian Games Football Dream Schools in Guangyuan city, Sichuan province - Li Mi, aged 15, and Li Yujian, 13.
The 3km course took the participants around landmarks of the Singapore Sports Hub including the National Stadium and Aquatics Centre.
