SINGAPORE - National marathoner Mok Ying Ren finished 12th overall at the Ottawa Marathon on Sunday night (Saturday morning Canadian time), just two places short of meeting the qualifying mark for the Olympics.

The 27-year-old finished in 2hr 27min 2sec. A top 10 finish in the event, which had just been awarded International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Gold Label status late last year, would have meant qualifying for the Rio de Janeiro Games.

The qualifying time for the men's marathon is 2:19. But according to IAAF, top 10 finishers at Gold Label events held during the qualification period are also considered to have achieved the entry standard.

Women's marathon Neo Jie Shi earned her ticket to the Rio Games when she finished among the top 10 at last year's Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore.

Despite missing the mark and falling short of his 2013 personal best of 2:26:30, the time is an improvement over the 2:35 the 2013 SEA Games marathon champion timed in Kyoto in March.