Tue, Aug 17, 2004 page20

• Thailand raucously celebrates first ever gold medal

  • AP
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  Thailand rejoiced yesterday after local weightlifter Udomporn Polsak clinched the country's first gold medal at the Athens Olympics, with officials and sponsors promising financial rewards and family members taking Buddhist vows to show thanks.

  Udomporn's victory Sunday in the 53kg class with a total of 222.5 kg handed Thailand its second medal in the 28th Olympic Games a day after another Thai weightlifter, Aree Wiratthaworn, won a bronze medal in the women's 48kg class.

  

  Thailand's 53kg weightlifter Udomporn Polsak cleans 125.5kg while lifting an Olympic record on Sunday at the Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall. Polsak won the gold medal in her class.

  PHOTO: AP

  Members of Udomporn's family in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province celebrated the triumph of their daughter, the first Thai woman ever to win a gold medal in any discipline at an Olympic competition.

  The 23-year-old athlete's grandfather and father had earlier prayed at a statue of a mythical folk hero, Yamo, and promised to be ordained as Buddhist monks if Udomporn prevailed at the Games.

  Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, and local men often enter the monkhood temporarily to commemorate significant changes in their lives.

  "I made a vow to the statue of Yamo, that if Yamo blessed her to win the gold, her father and I would be ordained as Buddhist monks," said Udomporn's 64-year-old grandfather, Lue. "Now that the gold has come true, we will set a date to be ordained."

  Udomporn's father Boonsong said he celebrated with neighbors into the early hours yesterday after his daughter's win.

  But the Olympian's mother, Sasithorn, showed a more earthly appreciation for her daughter's achievement. "I bought her a townhouse as a present," she said.

  Millions of Thais were glued to television sets to watch Udomporn's performance broadcast live from Greece.

  After winning the gold, Udomporn said in Athens that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had telephoned to congratulate her, and that she asked him to give her the rank of a military lieutenant. "The prime minister said he could make that for me," she said.

  It is common in Thailand for officials to confer a military rank on famous athletes and celebrities.

  Meanwhile, officials and corporate sponsors pledged to give Udomporn a total of about 11 million baht (US$264,870) for her golden effort.

  Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapallop said he would give Udomporn 1 million baht (US$24,100) of his own money, while Thai Airways International, telecommunications firm Advanced Info Services Co -- owned by Thaksin's family -- and other firms offered lucrative sponsorship deals.

  Udomporn's victory was splashed across the front pages of local newspapers. "Gold For Our Girl!" read a headline in the English-language daily, The Nation.
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