Thai sprinter Puripol breaks own Asian Games record to win 100m gold

NAGOYA - Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson shattered his own Asian Games record to clinch the gold in the men's 100m final on Friday. He finished the race in an impressive 9.90 seconds at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, which was only about a quarter full. China's Chen Yujie claimed the women's 100m title with a Games-record time of 11.06 seconds, relegating Singapore's Shanti Pereira to silver and Bahrain's Edidiong Odiong to bronze.

Puripol's semi-final time of 9.91 seconds already surpassed the previous record set by China's Su Bingtian at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. However, he managed to shave another hundredth off that record in the final, finishing well ahead of the Omani duo, Ali Al-Balushi (10.04) and Malham Al-Balushi (10.11).

This victory marks Thailand's first men's 100m gold medal since Suchart Jairsuraparp won it back home at the 1978 Bangkok Games. Bahrain's Birhanu Balew added another gold to his collection, winning his fourth Asian Games gold medal in the men's 10,000 meters with a time of 28 minutes and 27.51 seconds. The Ethiopian-born runner aims to achieve his fifth Asian Games gold in the 5,000 meters on Tuesday, stating he hopes to secure another victory after the 5,000 meters.