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IN THE race for track and field glory, Singapore athletics is struggling to keep pace with the competition.
From the glory days of the 1970s, when golden harvests came from jumpers, sprinters, hurdlers and middle-distance runners, Singapore have stagnated into a one-discipline team.
At last month's South-east Asia Games in Thailand, the Republic's 22-strong athletics team returned with just one title from the 45 on offer.
The lone gold came from one athlete - Zhang Guirong, who successfully defended her shot put title and came in third in the discus event.
It has been the same story from 1993 to 2005. A total of 13 SEA Games athletics gold medals were harvested - but all came from throwers, eight via the now-retired discus ace James Wong.
Before that, runner K. Jayamani was the Republic's last Games champion, winning the 1983 women's marathon - also Singapore's last medal in a track event.
Said Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) vice-president (training and selection) Chan Chee Wei: 'We need to recognise that our standards have stagnated for a while, whereas other countries have moved on.'
Indeed, the statistics paint a grim picture.
Singapore's athletes have only rewritten national records in 11 events this decade, while Chee Swee Lee's 1974 400m national record is among a handful of marks achieved in the 1960s and 1970s that still stand.
Only two athletes earned tickets to the Asian Games since 1998 - a competition Singapore have yet to win a medal since 1974.
Certainly, rejuvenation of the sport is paramount, especially when it forms the heart and spirit of major games.
With Singapore set to host the 2013 SEA Games and in the final stages of winning the bid to host the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympics, the importance of breathing new life into its athletics scene has never been greater.
The Ministry of Education this month launched its Junior Sports Academies programme, with athletics among six sports involved in the pilot project.
For the first time, primary school kids will be talent-spotted and introduced to more formal training.
The SAA, which receives between $1 million and $1.5 million annually in funding from the Singapore Sports Council, is also targeting the young.
The first step: creating a broad base through its Kids' Athletics programme for kids aged eight to 13.
Launched in September 2003, the programme involves some 80 schools, where the element of 'fun' is a big part of the kids' introduction to sport.
Said SAA Kids' Athletics manager Khairina Mohamed: 'Rather than taking children into the adult world of traditional athletics, we endeavour to create in children a love for athletics by taking the sport to their world instead.'
Hopefully, this love for athletics will translate into the kids competing in inter-school events at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels - and that is where talent generally gets spotted by the SAA.
References from coaches, parents, clubs and schools also aid talent identification.
In addition, Chan said the SAA 'capitalises' on the Singapore Sports School's track and field academy to groom athletes.
With such systems in place, Chan is optimistic about the future.
He said: 'We now have a structure in place, with the Kids' Athletics and schools.
'The future looks good, especially with the young ones, like Sports School sprinters Balpreet Kaur, Valerie Pereira and Calvin Kang.
'We want to stay engaged with these young ones and make them remain in the sport. The last thing we want is for them to attain a high standard and then drop out.'
jwang@sph.com.sg
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