Teenage Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson, only 16, enroute to the 200m gold medal at the Vietnam SEA Games on Saturday, May 14, 2020. - The Nation Thailand/ANN
BANGKOK, May 14 (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Teenage Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson, 16, smashed the SEA Games record to grab the gold medal in the men’s 200 metres in Vietnam on Saturday.
Puripol catapulted out of the blocks at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, showing his rivals a clean pair of heels before crossing the finish line in 20.37 seconds.
His winning time smashed the old SEA Games record of 20.69 seconds set 23 years ago at the 1999 Brunei Games by Thai athlete Rianchai Seehawong.
Thailand won their first gold medal at the SEA Games on Wednesday, when the men’s pencak silat team beat favourites Indonesia in the final of the regu discipline.
The Thai delegation has targeted a haul of 112 gold medals from the Hanoi games.
Meanwhile, Grace Wong has won Malaysia’s first gold medal in the Vietnam SEA Games athletics event.
The 22-year-old Sarawakian, who holds the national record of 62.48m, won the hammer throw event with a throw of 57.30m.
The 2017 SEA Games gold medallist finally exacted revenge on her rival from Thailand, Mingkamon Koomphon, who scored 50.28m to finish second.
Koomphon was the gold medallist in the 2019 Manila SEA Games, while Grace finished as silver medallist.
Another Thai athlete Panwat Gimsrang won bronze. - The Nation Thailand/ANN
