Adeline Yeo
110 contestants came and raised their arms in a bid to represent Singapore in the prestigious Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay and only 1 man will reign.
28-year-old Kamal Akhtar endured 6 grueling hours of holding up the torch before he earned his spot as 1 of 5 
privileged torchbearers from Singapore to walk among other global torchbearers selected from a pool of key personalities, inspirational role models, celebrities and the media in the host city of Suzhou, China.
Mr Akhtar was not the only winner as 1,500 Singaporeans from all walks of life also came together to create their own Olympic history by setting a Singapore record for having the most number of torchbearers forming a five-ring formation. The record setting attempt is a tribute to the Olympics logo and the endeavour was officiated by Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minster of Defence and President of the Singapore National Olympic Council.
Triumph not only came in the form of glory but also for a good cause as various deejays from MediaCorp such as Yazmin from Class 95FM, Shan Wee from 987FM, Tim Oh from Gold 90.5FM and Fen Ying from Love 972FM had their own mini endurance challenge in a bid to raise money for Mainly I love Kids (MILK), KK Hospital Health Endowment Fund and the Society for the Physically Disabled.
It was an amusing experience watching the radio deejays hold up the torches for a mere 15 minutes as they squirmed and made small talk to distract themselves from the burning ache of raising their arms while the other hopeful torchbearers had already been about 5 hours into the official Torchbearer’s Challenge. 
Nonetheless, the deejays held on and raised $2,000 for each of the charities they were assigned to, pooling in a total of $8,000 worth of donations.
“Our aim is to bring the spirit of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Gamesto Singapore, by encouraging and helping Singaporeans from all walks of life to experience the spirit of the Olympics and push themselves to the limit for a better life. We are greatly encouraged by the public’s active participation and enthusiasm over the past month and hope they continue to show their support for the Olympics,” said Mr. Ki-Heung Yoon, Managing Director, Samsung Asia Pte Ltd.
Mr Ki-Heung Yoon’s words held true as it was indeed a day spent in Olympic spirit as Singaporeans strived to perform challenges to the best of their abilities, displaying exemplary sportsmanship and the persevering attitude of an athlete.