Sanya: "Bew" Puripol Boonsorn and "Belle" Jirapatchara Khan-onta secured gold medals for Thailand at the 2026 Asian Beach Games in athletics, showcasing their prowess on the track.
According to Thai News Agency, at the event in Sanya, China, Thai sprinter "Bew" Puripol Boonsorn excelled in the men's 60-meter sprint. After qualifying in the first round with a time of 6.78 seconds, he finished first in the final with a time of 6.62 seconds. Boonsorn narrowly edged out Huang Zhaoyu from the host nation, who completed the race in 6.67 seconds and claimed the silver medal. Liu Yang, also from China, secured the bronze with a time of 6.74 seconds. Despite feeling that his performance did not match his practice runs, Boonsorn expressed satisfaction with winning the gold medal for the first time in this event.
In the women's 60-meter sprint, "Belle" Jirapatchara Khan-onta also achieved success by finishing first with a time of 7.46 seconds. Xu Jialu from China claimed the silver medal with a time of 7.49 seconds, and Jessica Dres Lawrence from the Philippines took home the bronze with a time of 7.52 seconds. Another Thai athlete, Supanich Poolkird, who made it to the final, finished sixth with a time of 7.67 seconds.
The Thai sprinting team still has opportunities for more gold medals in the upcoming men's and women's 4x60 meter relay events. The men's relay is scheduled to commence tomorrow at 9:50 AM Thai time.