By Lin Xinyi

The Osim Singapore International Triathlon (Osit) sprint-distance time trial was aimed at identifying potential Youth Olympic Games (YOG) athletes.

But, at the start line yesterday, only seven athletes - five boys and two girls - came for the time trial. They were two shy of the expected turn out.

Before the race, the Triathlon Association of Singapore (TAS) had hoped to form a pre-YOG triathlon squad of three boys and three girls.

It will now have to make do with the top three boys and the two girls who completed the race - comprising a 750m swim, a 20km bike leg and a 5km run.

Singapore Sports School's Scott Ang, 15, won the boys' race in 1hr 8min 7sec.

Second was full-time athlete Travis Woodford, 16, who finished in 1:10.46.

Raffles Institution student Kenneth Lim secured the final spot with an effort of 1:14.39.

Racing in his first triathlon, Kenneth made the most of his $2,500 investment on a new bicycle two weeks ago.

'At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to take part because I didn't even have my own bike,' said the TAS Inter-Collegiate & Schools Biathlon Challenge 2007 and 2008 champion. 'The purchase was well worth it.'

Like him, the girls' division winner, Clara Wong, is a swimmer, biathlete and triathlon first-timer.

The 16-year-old Methodist Girls' School student crossed the line in 1:19.37, while her former primary school classmate Samantha Ho, 15, finished in 1:20.15.

Clara, the winner of this year's Schools National B Division girls' cross country title, said: 'I decided to give triathlon a shot because I want to do whatever it takes to represent Singapore at the YOG.'

The quintet will have the chance to seal a berth in the YOG at the end of this month, when they compete in the Asian Triathlon Championships in South Korea - the Asian YOG qualifying event.

The top four Asian boys and girls will qualify for the YOG, but a maximum of one boy and one girl will fly the Republic's flag.

Should Singapore fail to qualify on merit, it is assured of wild-card entries for one boy and one girl as the Games host.

Scott, despite finishing first, refused to get carried away.

He said: 'I was aiming for a top-three finish because that would be enough to qualify for South Korea. I want to take it one step at a time, one goal at a time.'

Travis said: 'If I continue with the way I'm training, I believe I've a good chance of qualifying for the YOG at the Asian Triathlon Championships.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.