Thai star in top 20 fastest runners in the world

In his first time participating in the World Athletics Championships, 21-year-old Thai runner Puripol Boonson recorded a special milestone in the history of athletics in the land of golden temples.

Puripol Boonson makes history in Thai athletics - Photo: SS

In 2022, Boonson - then 16 years old, was given a special ticket by World Athletics for outstanding young talent. But Thailand refused.

The goal of the Thai Athletics Federation was very clear, wanting Boonson to develop step by step. At that time, many experts in the land of golden temples predicted that one day Boonson would enter the final of the 100m race.

After three years, Boonson finally qualified for the World Athletics Championships, and he really made his mark.

In the qualifying round, Boonson finished with a time of 10.15 seconds, ranking 18th out of 56 athletes participating in the tournament, thereby winning a ticket to the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, Boonson was placed in group 2 - with 2 championship candidates Bednarek (USA) and Thompson (Jamaica). The Thai runner was under great pressure and did not have the best performance.

His finishing time in the semi-finals was 10.17 seconds, missing the ticket to the final by 0.2 seconds. And Boonson accepted to stop at the semi-finals.

However, in the overall rankings, Boonson is in 20th place - a proud milestone for a 19-year-old athlete from Thailand.

According to Siam Sport , Boonson is the first Southeast Asian athlete to be in the top 20 fastest runners on the planet.

Boonson (left) is the only Asian to reach the semi-finals of the men's 100m race - Photo: REUTERS

For decades, the two races "fastest run" (100m) and "longest run" (marathon) in athletics have always been considered reserved for people of color - including the usual countries such as the US, Jamaica, Kenya...

Even the two powerful Asian sports , China and Japan, are always powerless to compete in these running distances.

Typically, at this year's World Athletics Championships, Boonson was the only Asian runner to make it to the 100m semi-finals.

At just 19, Boonson still has plenty of room to shine on the world athletics stage. A year ago, he finished second at the World U20 Championships.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ngoi-sao-thai-lan-vao-top-20-nguoi-chay-nhanh-nhat-the-gioi-20250914223208378.htm