Jayaram s/o Rengasamy was an amateur athlete who competed at the club level in Singapore and Malaya in the 1940s and 50s. He started his sporting career at the age of 14 as a boxer. In 1953, a friend and fellow athlete, MS Maniam, invited Mr Rengasamy to participate in the Tamil’s Festival or Tamilar Thirunnal. He then began training in athletics at Anglo-Chinese School Barker Road, the grounds of Victoria School off Jalan Besar and at Farrer Park. Mr Rengasamy also started participating in different races as a middle distance runner at the Tamil’s Festival (1954 – 57), Singapore Amateur Athletic Association meets (1955 – 57), as well as the Merdeka Games, Kuala Lumpur (1957). He was also a member of Swift Athletics Club.
