Thailand’s sprinting sensation Puripol Boonson has overcome a hamstring injury from 2023 to become the only Southeast Asian sprinter to reach the semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, when he finished third in Heat 4 of the 100m dash in a time of 10.13 seconds.
Puripol is also the first sprinter from the region to advance to the semi-finals since Indonesian Mardi Lestari at the Seoul Olympics in 1998.
The 18-year-old, one of the world’s fastest young athletes, told the Straits Times, “I’m happy to recover and make it this far. I want to continue to break more records and go under 10 seconds.”
Puripol is one of only two runners from Asia to advance to the semi-finals, with Japan’s Hakim Brown finishing second in Heat 4 with a time of 10.02 seconds.
Photo: Reuters
In his Olympic debut, Puripol, along with 12-year-old skateboarder Vareeraya Sukasem, were selected to be the flag bearers for Thai athletes at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics on July 26..
A native of Surin province, Puripol won the 100m silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, clocking a personal best of 10.06 seconds.
At just 16, he was named by World Athletics as the fastest 100-metre sprinter in the Under-18 age group, with a record of 10.09 seconds, set at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Colombia.
This record, set on August 2 of that year, surpassed the previous mark of 10.15 seconds, set by American sprinter Anthony Schwartz since 2017.
Puripol also set a national record of 20.19 seconds in the 200-metre sprint in Kazakhstan on June 27, 2022
Competing in the SEA Games for the first time in Hanoi in May, 2021 he won three gold medals.
An online campaign has been launched via Change.org, calling on Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt to provide financial support to Puripol, enabling him to train abroad, alongside other world-class athletes, with international coaches and.
Read more:
– ST and Angel Bew selected as flag bearers for Thailand at Paris 2024 Olympics
– 16-year-old Thai boy named World Athletics fastest 100m under 18 sprinter
Main photo: Oblique Seville of Jamaica crosses the line to win the heat ahead of Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan and Puripol Boonson of Thailand.//Reuters
