Singapore - As the track and field medal competition at the Singapore Youth Olympic Games prepares to get underway on Saturday (21) one can only wonder which of these young champions will someday also wear an Olympic Games medal around their necks.

Who will be the next Wilson Kipketer, the next Sebastian Coe, the next Frankie Fredericks, the next Sergey Bubka?

This quartet not only stands among the greatest stars in the history of athletics, but they personally attended these first Youth Olympic Games to offer their encouragement and observations.

Kipketer, an Olympic medalist and multiple World champion, was honoured as an Athlete Role Model. He went beyond the disappointment of not being able to compete in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games because of a change in national allegiance from Kenya to Denmark to still become one of the great 800m runners of all-time. His outdoor World record of 1:41.11 has stood for 13 years.

"The Youth Olympics is a time for young athletes to learn, to get used to everything," said Kipketer. "The Games are a platform for them to plan for the future. I ran in the world junior championships and when I lost it gave me an idea of everything required to be a top athlete."

"Young athletes can use the Youth Olympics as a chance to see what running is about and how to handle the media, the pressure, the training, the warm-up process and travelling," he added. "This is an opportunity for them to know each other, to learn about other countries, to have their minds opened as they meet with the world.”