Sport Singapore (SportSG) has announced the appointment of IRONMAN Endurance Asia (IRONMAN) to organise the annual Marathon Singapore for the next 10 years, beginning with this year’s Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS).

Sports Singapore has called for a proposal to grow the Singapore signature running event as it celebrates 15 years of partnership with the title sponsor Standard Chartered Bank.

This has been revealed after the uncertain future of the incumbent organiser Spectrum Worldwide (SWW), the organiser for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore since 2013.

Spectrum Worldwide (SWW) was allegedly reported to owe close to a total of a million dollars to various vendors for the services to the SCMS with some delayed payments going back to the 2014 edition of the race.

This claim has left loyal supporters of the iconic marathon wondering if this race will be smoothly organised again this year.

However all these fears have been quashed as IRONMAN Endurance Asia backed by Wanda Sports, its parent company, entered into an agreement to acquire Spectrum Worldwide giving it a much needed lifeline.

Photo Credit: Donald Miralle

The Marathon Singapore started in 1982 and over the past five years has had approximately 260,000 athletes participating.

Sports Singapore has made the decision after evaluating comprehensively from the five strong proposals put up out of the seven interested entities.

Stating the reason to appoint IRONMAN, Mr Lim Teck Yin, CEO of Sport Singapore said:

"IRONMAN presented a comprehensive proposal that best met our aspirations. With their extensive expertise and experience through nearly 260 events globally, we believe that they have the right acumen to enhance Marathon Singapore locally and internationally."

Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of IRONMAN revealed that they are looking forward to working with SportSG in raising the profile of the historic Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore to athletes around the world.

The Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore will be IRONMAN’s first running event in Singapore and will be the home of the new IRONMAN Endurance Asia headquarters.

Geoff Meyer Managing Director IRONMAN Endurance Asia added:

“Our footprint and offerings are continuously expanding, especially in Asia, so we are very pleased to be launching our new IRONMAN Endurance Asia Headquarters here in Singapore, with the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore being the focal point to continue to lead growth in the region.”

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore is the only IAAF Gold Label race in Southeast Asia, and will be celebrating its 15th anniversary on 4 December 2016.

The registration for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2016 will starts with its "Digital Queue" for a week beginning on 25 June.

Will runners see a brand new race experience for this year's SCMS? We're hoping to find out.