Puripol, Shanti reign as Southeast Asia's sprint king and queen

Thailand's Puripol Boonson celebrates winning the men's 100m final in the SEA Games. - AFP

BANGKOK: Thailand's Puripol Boonson is officially the fastest athlete in Southeast Asia.

The 19-year-old  won the men's 100m SEA Games final with a time of 10.00s at the Supachalasai Stadium here on Thursday (Dec 11).

The silver went to Indonesia’s Lalu Mohd Zohri, who clocked 10.25s, while Malaysia’s Danish Iftikhar Mohd Roslee bagged bronze, sprinting to a time of 10.26s.

Boonson had earlier hogged the limelight in the heats when he became the first Southeast Asian sprinter to dip below 10 seconds on home soil, underlining his status as the region’s fastest man.

The sprinter had smashed the SEA Games record with a blistering 9.94s 

The previous Games record of 10.17s was set by Indonesia’s Surya Agong Wibowo in 2009. 

Meanwhile, Singapore's Veronica Shanti Pereira bagged the women's 100m gold with a time of 11.36s.

Singapore's Shanti Pereira celebrates with the Singapore national flag after winning the women's 100m final of the athletics event during the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) at the Suphachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok on December 11, 2025. (Photo by Chanakarn Laosarakham/ AFP)

Thailand's Jirapat Khanonta of Thailand came in second 11.54s while Ha Thi Thu of Vietnam took the bronze with 11.58s.

Malaysia's Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli finished last and sevent with a time of 11.87s.