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National runner Soh Rui Yong has come in fourth in the men's 5,000m at the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh on Tuesday (May 9).

The 31-year-old marathoner took an early lead, but faded towards the end of the race, clocking in a timing of 14 min 48.4 sec.

Soh's effort was an improvement over his fifth-place finish in the same race at the 2017 SEA Games, in Kuala Lumpur.

This is his first event at a major competition after over five years.

His compatriot, 30-year-old Jeevaneesh Soundararajah, came in fifteenth place with a timing of 15 min 51.6 sec.

His first SEA Games after 6 years

This marks Soh's first SEA Games appearance after a 6-year hiatus.

Though he won the SEA Games marathon gold in 2015 and 2017, he was subsequently embroiled in a dispute with the Singapore National Olympic Council.

Soh was also involved in defamation suits against fellow runner Ashley Liew, as well as Singapore's track and field governing body, Singapore Athletics.

Resultantly, Soh was not selected for the 2019 SEA Games in Manila, despite qualifying for it.

He was also left out of the national squad for the 2022 Hanoi SEA Games.

Soh apologised to SNOC twice in letters he published on social media in February and October 2022.

In March this year, he received the green light from SNOC to compete in the Cambodia SEA Games after being summoned to face a special appeals committee.

Grateful for the opportunity to represent Singapore

In an Instagram post on May 6, Soh shared that despite not running in his preferred event, the marathon, he was determined to give his all for the 5,000m and 10,000m events.

Considering the calibre of his opponents, he hoped for a bronze medal at best, but said that he would "push himself to the limit for the pride of our nation".

Soh also expressed that he was deeply grateful for the the opportunity to represent Singapore and make his friends, family and supporters proud.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Soh Rui Yong 🇸🇬 (苏睿勇) (@runsohfast)

What's next

You can catch Soh in action as he takes on the men's 10,000m on Thursday (May 11).

It will be his first time competing in that particular event at the SEA Games.

Top image via runsohfast on Instagram.