Rio wrap-up: Team Singapore — Athletics

ROAD TO RIO

A surprise qualifier for Rio, marathoner Neo Jie Shi had earned her spot through a top-10 finish of 3hrs 15mins and 6secs at last December’s Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS), which is an IAAF Gold Label Marathon.

A recreational runner before last year’s SEA Games, the 31-year-old late bloomer was fast-tracked into the national team set-up under the tutelage of veteran coach Steven Quek.

Sprinter Timothee Yap, also making his Olympic debut, bagged his ticket to Rio via a much-debated wildcard selection process.

The 21-year-old’s nomination came after the selection criteria was adjusted by the Singapore Athletics’ newly-elected management committee, which used the IAAF scoring table as reference. The previous selection criteria, put in place late last year, gave national record breakers priority.

Even though Yap’s personal best of 10.62s was slower than the season-best 10.58s posted by his teammate Calvin Kang, the latter was not eligible to compete in Rio as he had previously competed on a wild card at the 2008 Beijing Games.

HOW THEY FARED

Neo could not achieve the personal best she was targeting for in Rio, clocking 3:15:18 — far from her PB of 3:09:57 — to come in 131st of 133 finishers. However, it was still a gallant effort by the Singaporean debutant, when one considers that more than 24 athletes failed to complete the gruelling 42.195km race because of the searing heat.

Sprinter Yap’s performance, however, added weight to critics who suggested before the Games that he would be out of his depth on the Olympic stage.

In the week leading up to his races, the young man found time to contribute an exclusive video of his time at the Games Village to the website of a fashion magazine.

While his video was a smooth piece of work, the same cannot be said of his performance on track.

Yap finished second out of nine runners during his preliminary round with 10.84s to qualify for the next stage, but the heats proved to be a bridge too far as he finished last with 10.79s.

Both times, however, were way off his personal best of 10.62s and the national record of 10.37s.

GRADE: C