Ruben De Silva-Smith completes own Olympic-length triathlon

But he wanted to finish it the way he meant to - by completing an Olympic-length event in a competitive time.

The rising star was booked to compete in an event at St Kilda but the popular triathlon was called off due to the limitations put in place by the federal and state governments around large outdoor public gatherings.

It meant De Silva-Smith had to get creative while still practicing good social distancing by mapping out his own 1.5-kilometre swim, 40km ride and 10km run at Killarney.

"It (St Kilda) was the pinnacle race I was working towards and it got cancelled so I decided to do my own one to see where I was at after all the training," the 16-year-old said.

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"It (the time) wasn't accurate but I was on target. I did an hour for the bike and 40 minutes for the run and the swim wasn't super accurate but I was still on target.

"It was a little strange because the Melbourne races usually attract close to 2000 people and to go back by yourself is strange as the motivation is still there but not with so much adrenaline."

The solo race was a new concept De Silva-Smith is considering to adopt as part of his future training.

"It's a good way to see where you are at and I could potentially use it during the off-season to measure myself against last season's results," the South West Academy of Sport athlete said.

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