106 year old Thai athlete breaks discus world record in South Korea
Thai athlete Sawang Janpram has broken his own discus world record at the age of 106, throwing 7.59 metres at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea. He is also set to receive a special award as the event’s oldest athlete.
Sawang competed in the men’s 100+ age category yesterday, August 27, during the fifth day of the championships, which run from August 22 to September 3.
Sawang was the only competitor in his age category and secured the gold medal after completing the event in accordance with competition rules.
Using a 1-kilogram discus, Sawang recorded a best throw of 7.59 metres, improving on the 7.50-metre world record he set at the 2025 world championships in Taiwan.
The performance gave Sawang his first gold medal of this year’s championships. He is due to return to competition tomorrow, August 29, in the javelin.
Sawang, the oldest athlete at the championships, is also due to receive a special award from the Daegu organising committee tomorrow.
Thailand secured two further silver medals yesterday. Somsanga Boonnok, who had already won the women’s 70 to 74 80-metre hurdles and broken the world record in the event, competed in the long jump.
Somsanga recorded a best jump of 3.64 metres across six attempts, finishing 0.04 metres behind Finland’s Raija Hilden, who won gold with 3.68 metres. Germany’s Sue Yeomans placed third with 3.21 metres.
In the men’s 55 to 59 high jump, Thailand’s Somnuek Wongsaming cleared 1.60 metres to finish second among nine competitors. Sweden’s Mattias Sunneborn won with 1.65 metres, while Spain’s Jaume Vila also cleared 1.60 metres and placed third, with Matichon reporting that Somnuek took silver because he was older.
Thailand sent 48 masters athletes to the championships. The team had already won two gold and two bronze medals before the August 27 events.
Sawang was born on May 8, 1920. Despite being 106, he continues to exercise regularly and compete in several athletics disciplines, including running, javelin, shot put and discus, and has collected numerous gold medals.
In June, Sawang received his first degree, an honorary degree in sports and exercise science from Thailand National Sports University, which his daughter described as equivalent to a master’s degree.
His daughter told DailyNews at the time that Sawang had previously studied to Mathayom 2 before training as a teacher and receiving a certificate rather than a university degree.
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