Thailand surged clear at the top of the SEA Games medals table on Sunday, scooping 22 golds to power ahead of nearest challengers Vietnam. The host nation have made no secret of their desire to come out on top after finishing behind the Philippines in the 2005 edition of the Games and their tally of 65 golds leaves them just 22 short of their mark of 87 from two years ago.
Thailand's bid for success was helped by a win in the women's marathon for Sunisa Sailomyen, who triumphed in 2 hours 43 minutes 33 seconds. Pa Pa of Myanmar took the silver in 2:44:11 and the Philippines' Jho Ann Banayag finished 30 seconds behind to win the bronze.
Indonesia's Yahuza Yahuza easily took the gold in the men's race in 2:23:46, winning by almost three minutes. Cambodian Hem Bunting took the silver in 2:26:28 and Eduardo Buenavista of the Philippines came third in 2:27:21.
There were only two other athletics events Sunday, with Malaysia taking both golds in the 20-kilometre walk. Teoh Boon Lim finished in 1:30:37 in the men's race and Yuan Yu Fang clocked 1:41:47 to win the women's event.
In the swimming pool, Singapore enjoyed a strong showing Sunday evening, winning four golds from seven events.
Singapore's Tao Li, who won four golds at the 2005 SEA Games, took both the women's 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly. Malaysia's Daniel Bego won the men's 100m butterfly, setting a new Games record of 54.33 and in the women's 800m freestyle, Malaysia's Khoo Cai Lin smashed the previous record, set in 1997, by more than nine seconds.
The Singapore team took the men's 4x100m freestyle relay gold in a new Games record of 3:26.70. Zach Ong of Singapore won the men's 100m backstroke gold and Thailand's Tharnnawat Worakiart won the men's 400m freestyle.
On the tennis court Sunday, Thailand took gold in the men's and women's team events.
The host nation also enjoyed success in cycling, dance sport, fencing and rowing. Thailand's 65 golds put them well on the way to their target of 150 and leave the host nation well clear of nearest challenger Vietnam on 28.
On Sunday evening the gold medal matches were due to take place in the men's and women's doubles in the table tennis, with Singapore looking to add to their mixed doubles crown and their men's and women's team titles.
Attention turns back to track and field Monday with hopefuls looking to catch the eye ahead of next year's Beijing Olympics. Highlights include the men's 100m hurdles and the men's and women's 4x100m relays.
Thailand enjoyed a winning start to the athletics competition Friday, taking home six golds from nine events on a day that saw five Games records broken.
But Saturday was dominated by Vietnam and the Philippines, who shared seven golds in track and field, while four Games records fell.
Eleven nations are chasing more than 470 gold medals at the 24th SEA Games in more than 40 sports. SEA Games participants are Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
MEDALS TABLE:
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Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
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Thailand 66 58 41 165
Vietnam 29 14 39 82
Singapore 25 20 14 59
Philippines 16 25 44 85
Malaysia 15 14 30 59
Indonesia 13 21 23 57
Myanmar 2 10 12 24
Laos 2 0 9 11
Cambodia 1 2 5 8
Brunei 0 1 0 1
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