Youth Olympic Triathlon: Clara Wong and Scott Ang team up with international triathletes in mixed relays

Story by Colin Tung/Red Sports. Photos by Marvin Lowe and Colin Tung/Red Sports

East Coast Park, Thursday, August 19, 2010 — Singapore’s Clara Wong was the lead-off triathlete for a world team comprising Italian Livio Molinari, Puerto Rican Cristina Betancourt and Zimbabwean Boyd Littleford and they finished 12th out of 15 teams in the mixed team relay.

Compatriot Scott Ang anchored another team comprising of Asians — Enkhjargal of Mongolia, Kirill Uvarov of Kazakhstan and Mattika Maneekaew of Thailand — to 15th and last position.

The mixed team relay was the last of three events in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) triathlon programme after the girls’ and boys’ individual events ended last Sunday and Monday respectively.

Each of the four-member (two boys and two girls) teams, constituted according to continent (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania) and including a couple of World teams (a mixture of triathletes from different continents) had to complete a super-sprint distance triathlon — 250m swim, 7km cycle, and a 1.7km run.

Clara Wong shared after the race that she had only gotten to know her international teammates approximately two hours before the race. She let on what took place in that short time: “We just talked. The Puerto Rican girl can speak English but the rest are not very good (in English). We also tried to recognize each other (for the respective handovers in the relay).”

Having been assigned to the last leg for his team, Scott came in almost a quarter of an hour after the winner had breasted the tape. With no competition to pressure him, he was lapping up every moment of the experience.

“It was really really fun! I got the thrill of finishing the race for the team,” Scott said.

He went on to explain what feelings went through him in the race: “This is an event that is new and never been done before at such a high level … I got really touched by the spirit of Olympism … getting to make friends of various nationalities.”

Chief National Coach Guo Weidong gave his analysis of his protégés’ races: “Today was a much better day for the both of them than when they raced in their girls’ and boys’ individual races respectively where Clara crashed her bike and Scott had to make an early morning pre-race hospital visit.”

“It may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them at such a high level of competition. It is not about the result. Most importantly, they must pick up lessons such as how some of these triathletes are transiting in 10 seconds where ours would take 30 seconds to a minute,” Guo expounded.

Triathletes like girls’ champion Yuka Sato of Japan and Christine Ridenour of Canada were certainly a class apart. But though Sato and Ridenour put the Asia 1 and Americas 2 teams in first and second positions respectively after the first leg, their teammates could not defend their positions.

The favourites going into the event had been the first teams of Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. Europe 1 had the most balanced team on paper although they had only one individual medallist as opposed to Americas 1 and Oceania 1 who both had two individual medallists.

Europe 1 consisted of Alois Knabl, Miguel Fernandes, Dudas Eszter and Fanny Beisaron (the third and fourth boys and fifth and sixth girls from the individual races respectively).

After, 1 hour 19 minutes 51.42 seconds, it was indeed Europe 1 who triumphed. Alois Knabl, the team’s anchor, took the tape at the finishing line, but it was not after some drama.

Argentina’s Lautaro Diaz, representing Americas 1, came through the finish line 7.46 seconds later, gaining bronze for the team but showed obvious frustration as he slapped his hands.

Diaz had earlier entered the second transition with a sizeable lead of about 14 seconds over his pursuers — Knabl and boys’ individual champion Aaron Barclay (representing Oceania 1).

But nerves contrived to make him unfasten his helmet before placing his bike on the rack, infringing the rules and incurring him a 15-second penalty he was made to serve out in a penalty box on his way back, on the finishing straight, just tens of metres from breasting the tape.

Diaz could only watch agonizingly as Knabl then Barclay passed him. When the 15 seconds were up, he made a desperate attempt to catch them but it was to no avail, turning what could have been a gold medal for the Americas team into a bronze. Barclay failed to bag a second gold at the Games coming behind Knabl by 3.81 seconds.

After the race, Diaz commented: “Mistakes are part of sport. It cost me the gold but I am still happy.”

“I learnt that the Games is not only about competition. Races like the World Championship is always about rivalry but here it is about friendship as well. I really like the atmosphere,” Diaz added.

When asked what the bronze medal meant to him, the Argentinian said: “It’s a prize for 10 years of training, working hard, waking up early and the sacrifices my family made for me. I feel I have been rewarded.”

Diaz’s teammate, Kevin McDowell of the United States, said: “We thought we had it (the victory). But we ended up third. I still think it went really well and I am happy with the medal.”

Like Barclay and Knabl, it was McDowell’s second medal of the Games after his silver in the boys’ individual race. The American also recorded the fastest leg in the mixed team relay today. His time of 18:29 put him 18 seconds clear of the next fastest leg by Mexico’s Luis Oliveros.

On the other hand, for the medallists from the girls’ individual race, Ellie Salthouse and Kelly Whitley garnered their second silver and bronze on the Oceania 1 and Americas 1 teams respectively. Gold medallist Yuka Sato, however, was not able to add to her collection as her Asia 1 team finished eighth.

Sato said after the race that she was “very tired.” But with triathlon completing its programme and the scaffoldings being brought down at the venue, there is time to rest and relax with another week of competition still to go elsewhere. For Sato, she is heading to Pulau Ubin tomorrow as part of the Singapore 2010 Culture and Education Programme (CEP).

For full results, click here

Related Stories
Youth Olympic Girls’ Triathlon
Youth Olympic Boys’ Triathlon

For Singapore fixtures and results, go to our 2010 YOG fixtures page

First Leg

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