Singapore ended the South-east Asian Youth Championships in Illagan City, Philippines on a high yesterday when the Republic's track and field athletes delivered two gold medals.

Sprinter Reuben Rainer Lee, 15, ran an outstanding race in the 200m and triumphed in 21.61 seconds. Malaysia's Azeem Fahmi took silver (21.86) while Thailand's Kanchai Chimthong was third (22.42).

Reuben also set an Under-18 national record with his time. The previous mark was set by Shameer Ayub in 2001.

Said the Singapore Sports School student: "The race was simple... as I was running on the outer lane, I had to run my own race from the get-go.

"I was hoping for the gold medal, but I didn't know how fast my opponents were.

"I was confident that I would clock a good timing as I have been performing well in training and in competitions leading up to the SEA Youth.

"The gold medal was definitely a bonus for me and also gave me a boost in confidence for my next international competition (the Asian Youth Championships in Hong Kong from March 15-19)."

Marc Brian Louis won the other gold when he triumphed in the 400m hurdles in 55.55sec.

"I wasn't expecting to get a gold medal because I didn't know how fast my opponents were, so when I got the gold medal, I was pleasantly surprised," he said.

Pole vaulters Elliott Wee (silver) and Heng Jee Kuan (bronze), hammer thrower Ho Yan Jie (bronze), triple jumper Andrew George Medina (bronze) and shot putter Matthew Lee (bronze) were the other medal winners for Singapore yesterday.

The Republic won a total of two golds, three silvers and four bronzes at the two-day meet.