Thailand SEA Games: Relay Record, Tuntivate Hat-Trick

Thailand’s home SEA Games are turning into a medal-minting festival. The hosts have surged past the 150-gold mark, watched Kieran Tuntivate complete a distance-running hat-trick, celebrated a record-smashing men’s 4×400 m relay and, in the same breath, endured a shock exit for the once-unbeatable women’s futsal side. The contrasting storylines capture both the dominance and the dramas unfolding in Bangkok and satellite venues.

Quick Glance at the Day

• Total golds so far: 185 – already clear of the original 150-gold target

• Tuntivate’s third title in 10,000 m after wins in 1,500 m and 5,000 m

• 4×400 m relay breaks the SEA Games + Thai national record in 3:03.07

• Women’s futsal dream ends on penalties; men’s team into semifinal unbeaten

• Weightlifting & cycling add two more titles, extending Thailand’s lead

Host nation pulls away in the medal count

By Tuesday night the scoreboard at Hua Mak Indoor Stadium showed Thailand 185 gold, Indonesia 71, Vietnam 52. With three days left, the gap is now more than 100 golds – a margin unprecedented since the Games were last staged on Thai soil in 2007. Officials from the Sports Authority quietly admit they may have to print extra victory flags for the closing ceremony.

Tuntivate’s triple crown electrifies the track

Kieran Tuntivate, the Thai-American long-distance specialist, shrugged off an early bib malfunction to clock 29:41.82 in the 10,000 m. The win completes a clean sweep of the men’s distance events and cements him as Southeast Asia’s premier endurance runner. His camp credits a hybrid regimen of altitude blocks in Colorado, heat sessions in Chiang Mai and, more recently, short-interval sharpening at Thammasat Rangsit. “The big difference this year is how well he closes the final 800 m,” one national coach noted. “It is pure science, but it looks like art.”

Relay quartet rewrites the record books

Barely an hour after Tuntivate’s finish, the men’s 4×400 m team of Arcphon Kittisak, Chanon Boonchuen, Aitthiwat Pasith and anchor Thanakrit Khongchaowalit stopped the clock at 3:03.07. The time erases a Games mark that had stood since 2019 and clips 0.18 sec off the 8-year-old Thai record. Thanakrit, a former decathlete, described the last leg as “running with the stadium on my shoulders”. Athletics officials believe the quartet can threaten the Asian relay podium in Nagoya next year if they retain the same order.

Veteran muscle and pedal power add to the haul

In weightlifting, 31-year-old Sarat Sumpradit finally reclaimed SEA Games gold in the 94 kg class, lifting a combined 375 kg to edge Vietnam’s Tran Minh by 4 kg. Over on Phuket’s coastal highway, Sarawut Sirironnachai sliced through a steamy morning to take the men’s individual time trial by 38 sec, bringing cycling’s gold stash to 8 – already surpassing the federation’s goal of 6.

Futsal powerhouse learns a hard lesson

The women’s futsal team, unbeaten in the event since its 2007 debut, fell 11-10 on penalties to Indonesia after a breathless 4-4 draw. Analysts pinpoint three weak spots: inconsistent pressing, fatigue in the second extra-time period and unforced turnovers. Coach Thanathorn “O” Santanaprasit admitted the weight of playing at home “may have tightened a few legs”. The squad salvaged bronze by sweeping the Philippines 5-0, yet the aura of invincibility is gone. The men’s outfit, meanwhile, blanked Myanmar 3-0 and meets Vietnam on Friday for a place in the final.

Boxers poised for a gold rush

Eleven Thai fighters reached their finals, led by crowd-favourite Janjaem Suwannapheng, who is hunting a third consecutive title in the light-flyweight class. The boxing programme concludes inside Nimibutr Arena on Saturday evening, and selectors are quietly eyeing a nine-gold haul – a tally that would eclipse Manila 2019’s record.

The road ahead

Track cycling, archery mixed team finals and the much-anticipated sepak takraw quadrangular all unfold over the next 48 hours. Organisers still expect the overall gold number to sail past 200 by the closing ceremony. For Thai supporters, the challenge now is not whether the host nation will top the table, but by how wide a margin – and whether the sting of a single futsal heartbreak can be eased by a sea of victories elsewhere.