Puripol wins 200m gold with 19.88-second run

NAGOYA, Japan — On Sunday, Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson secured the men’s 200m gold medal at the 20th Asian Games "Aichi-Nagoya 2026" in Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Puripol, 20 years old, crossed the finish line in 19.88 seconds, demonstrating his prowess in one of his strongest events. Earlier, he had broken the Asian Games record in the semifinals with a time of 20.10 seconds.

In the final, Puripol not only won gold but also matched the Asian record previously held by Chinese sprinter Xie Zhenye. The feat marked Puripol's first time breaking the 20-second barrier in the 200m.

This achievement added to Puripol's growing list of accolades at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, as he had previously won gold in the men’s 100m event. Consequently, he became the first Thai athlete in 52 years to claim an Asian Games sprint gold since Anan Rattanapol's previous victories. Puripol is entitled to THB 2 million in prize money per gold medal under Thailand's reward system, making his total earnings from the 100m and 200m victories THB 4 million.

He remains eligible for additional prize money, with a potential total of THB 8 million if he wins gold in both the men’s 4x100m relay and the mixed 4x100m relay events.