Gold medal winners shine on Olympic Day
KHEMMATAT Janprapa and Kalaya Suddai beat competition from 10,000 runners to reign over the men’s and women’s 10km categories of Olympic Day Thailand at Supachalasai National Stadium yesterday.
The 25-year-old Khemmatat timed 36 minutes and 53 seconds to claim the men’s title while 37-year-old Kalaya crossed the finish line in 47.10sec to bag the women’s gold medal.
Among the big names at this year’s annual event were former Olympic champions, including Somluck Khamsing, Thailand’s first Olympic gold-medal-winning boxer (Atlanta Games in 1996); Paweea Thongsuk, weightlifting gold medallist from the 2004 Games in Greece; Somjit Jongjohor, boxing gold medallist in the 2008 Games; and Yaowapa Booripolchai, taekwondo bronze medallist at the 2004 Games.
The first 100 men and 100 women to cross the finish line received souvenir shirts while all participants were handed medals and certificates from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Participants also entered a lucky draw for two pairs of return air tickets plus accommodation and entry to the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year, while sponsor Bridgestone gave away 20 prizes worth up to Bt500,000.
Olympic Committee of Thailand president General Prawit Wongsuwan said: “Judging from the number of participants this year, it proves that people pay more attention to running and exercise, which leads to good health and longevity of life.”
