KUALA LUMPUR — The 2025 SEA Games in Thailand is set to feature a record-breaking 585 events, offering a historic number of gold medals during the competition from December 9 to 20 across Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla.
Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary-general Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin Najib revealed that unexpected additions and adjustments were made during a virtual meeting with the organisers last week.
“There was a discussion where the organisers informed us about the addition of events, name changes, and weight category adjustments.
“As a result, the number of events has increased to 585, although the number of sports remains at 50. We hope this decision is final,” he said after launching the Malaysia Kidslympic 2024 at Merdeka Stadium today.
According to the updated list, 11 events have been dropped while 16 new events have been introduced.
These include the 20km race walk and the 3,000m steeplechase for men and women, boosting the athletics gold medal tally to 47.
Changes have also been made to sports such as gymnastics, canoeing, cycling, e-sports, pencak silat, and judo.
Under the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) charter, a minimum of four countries must participate in any sport or event to be contested.
At the last SEA Games in Cambodia, 580 events across 36 sports were held.
Previous editions included 523 events (40 sports) in Vietnam in 2021 and 530 events (56 sports) in the Philippines in 2019.
These numbers far surpass the 329 events across 39 sports contested at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Despite the extensive medal opportunities at the Cambodia SEA Games, Malaysia endured its worst performance, finishing seventh overall with 34 golds, 45 silvers, and 97 bronzes, falling short of the 40-gold target. — December 28, 2024