Favourites Amberger and Gentle win maiden titles at 2009 Singapore Triathlon

Contributed by Lenny Lim

East Coast Park, Sunday, August 2, 2009 – “Youth” was the term of the day at this year's Osim Singapore Triathlon as Australians Joshua Amberger, 20, and Ashleigh Gentle, 18, won their maiden titles and USD 3,000 each in the event held at the East Coast Park today.

They were the favourites going into the race in their respective categories, despite their age, and the pressure clearly did not affect them.

From the word go, Amberger looked like a man on a mission as he was the first to charge into the water and took a huge early lead by the end of the swim leg as he exited nearly two minutes of eventual runner-up, compatriot Jesse Featonby.

Amberger further extended his lead to nearly three minutes when he clocked in a great bike leg of 1 hour 1 minute and 4 seconds.

Although Featonby did his best to outrun Amberger, the three minute lead prove to be a great buffer and Amberger crossed the finish line with a timing of 1 hour 56 minutes and 17 seconds, ahead of Featonby's 1 hour 58 minutes and 37 seconds. The race covered a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and a 10km run.

Tyson Mahon completed the podium honours for Australia when he finished a distance third in 2 hours 2 minutes and 56 seconds.

An elated Joshua, who is in Singapore for only the second time after finishing in fourth position last year, said, "I came in fourth last year at this race, disappointed as I had made a few mistakes last year and this year I wanted to make sure I didn't repeat those mistakes. I was pretty confident with this year's race.

He adds, "This win is great and is definitely good for my confidence as I have bigger priority races coming up; for example the World Championships happening on 22 August on home soil."

In the women's category, Gentle did not have it as easy as her fellow countryman, Amberger, as she fell nearly three minutes behind to South Africa's Anel Stewart after the completion of the swim leg.

However, through grit and determination, Gentle took a two-second lead ahead of Macau's Hoi Long as both clocked superb bike legs of 1 hour 6 minutes and 53 seconds and 1 hour 6 minutes and 54 seconds respectively.

Gentle never relinquished her lead as she extended it to more than 2 minutes, winning the race in a time of 2 hours 10 minutes and 35 seconds.

The teenager, who trains occasionally with Amberger shared, "Singapore has been a lovely place and I hope to return next year and defend my title. It was a tough race so I wasn't too sure but I did my best and told myself I'll take what comes. I'm really really young and would like to try and get more experience."

Hoi Long crossed the line after 2 hours 12 minutes and 47 seconds while Stewart finished in third place with a time of 2 hours 12 minutes and 47 seconds.

The only Singaporean Representative, Li Ying, who competed in the Elite Women U23 category, did not complete the race.

On Day 1 of the event, it was a couple of 16 year olds, Scott Ang of Singapore Sports School and Clara Wong of Methodist Girls’ School, making headlines when they won the Youth Olympic Games trials.

The event, Singapore's biggest triathlon event, organized by the Triathlon Association of Singapore and into its eighth year, attracted more than 2500 participants for its shorter distances – the mini and sprint distance categories, this year.

Mark Tay, Triathlon Association of Singapore's President, remarked, "It's great to see new faces every year taking part in the OSIM Singapore International Triathlon. Despite the humble field of elites participating this year, with most of the big names away in the World Championships, world-class sportsmanship was still on display."

Winners' Results- Men's Elite
1st: Joshua Amberger (Bib No 01, AUS)
Swim 00:19.41, Bike 01:01:04, Run 00:35:33 , Total 01:58:17
2nd: Jesse Featonby (Bib No 02, AUS)
Swim 00:21:37, Bike 01:02:05, Run 00:34:56, Total 01:58:37
3rd: Tyson Mahon (Bib No 07, AUS)
Swim 00:22:28, Bike 01:02:51, Run 00:37:38, Total 02:02:56

Winners' Results- Women's Elite
1st: Ashleigh Gentle (Bib No 42, AUS)
Swim 00:25:19, Bike 01:06:53, Run 00:38:24, Total: 02:10:35
2nd: Hoi Long (Bib No 44, Macau)
Swim 00:25:20, Bike 01:06:54, Run 00:40:35 Total: 02:12:47
3rd: Ariel Stewart (Bib No 41, South Africa)
Swim: 00:22:45, Bike 01:09:28, Run 00:40:40 Total: 02:12:52