Wassana Winatho (; born 30 June 1980, in

Prachinburi Prachinburi (, , ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Prachinburi Province. It covers the entire tambon Na Mueang of the Mueang Prachinburi District (city district). As of 2000, the population of the town was 25,15 ...

), also known as ''Amornrat Winatho'' and ''Vassanee Vinatho'', is a Thai

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who specialises in the

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

and the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

. She represented Thailand at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and competed at five consecutive editions of the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

(1998 to 2014). Having won medals internationally in combined events, sprints, hurdles and relays, she is widely regarded as the most versatile athlete in Southeast Asia. She is the current Thai record holder in the heptathlon and

women's pentathlon The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day (formerly two days). The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with t ...

, as well as having a share in the

4×400 metres relay A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pro ...

record. Winatho has been particularly successful at the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

, where her achievement include three heptathlon titles, three 400 m hurdles title, and a haul of three golds at the 2007 Games (with a heptathlon Games record of 5889 points). At the continental level, she has won pentathlon medals at the

Asian Indoor Games The Asian Indoor Games were a multi-sport event that was contested every two years among athletes representing countries from Asia. The games were regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia. The first games were held in 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand. ...

and the

Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The Asian Indoor Athletics Championships were held for the first time in 2004. Run by the Asian Athletics Association, the championships take place biennially in different cities all over Asia.Asian Junior Athletics Championships The Asian U20 Athletics Championships (formerly Asian Junior Athletics Championships) are the Asian championships open for those of age according to junior. It is currently organized by the Asian Athletics Association.Irina Naumenko Irina Vladimirovna Karpova (née Naumenko, ; born 13 February 1980 in Kamenogorsk, East Kazakhstan Region) is a Kazakhstani heptathlete. Naumenko was 2nd at the Hexham International Combined Events Meeting in 2005 (5438pts) She married Dmitr ...

in 1997 and 1999 in the heptathlon. She made her senior debut at the

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games () and the XIII Asiad,, or simply Bangkok 1998 (), were an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and di ...

and she narrowly missed out on a medal, scoring 5630 points for fourth place. She won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the heptathlon at the

1999 Southeast Asian Games The 1999 SEA Games (), officially known as the 20th SEA Games and commonly known as Brunei Darussalam 1999, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. This was the first time Brunei hosted the Southeast Asian ...

and won a

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

/400 m hurdles double at the following edition in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. She was fifth in the 400 m hurdles at the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...

. The

2003 Afro-Asian Games The 2003 Afro-Asian Games, officially known as the First Afro-Asian Games or I Afro-Asian Games and unofficially known as the Inaugural Afro-Asian Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Hyderabad, India, from 24 October (ex ...

provided her an opportunity to compete against top African opposition. Winatho was her region's best performer in the 400 m – taking the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

behind

Estie Wittstock Estie Wittstock (born 15 September 1980) is a South African sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at ...

and

Doris Jacob Doris Jacob (born 16 December 1981) is a Nigerian sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. Duah finished seventh in 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1997 World Championships, together with teammates Olabisi Afolabi, Fatima Yusuf and Falilat Ogu ...

– and won a second bronze in the 400 m hurdles. Another hurdles bronze came at the

2003 Asian Athletics Championships The 15th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Manila, Philippines on September 20–23, 2003 in sports, 2003. Results Men Women Medal table Participating nations * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. Her final competition of the year was the

2003 Southeast Asian Games The 2003 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 22nd Southeast Asian Games, SEA Games 22 and also known as Vietnam 2003, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held from 5 to 13 December 2003 in Hanoi, Vietnam. This was the first t ...

. Her attempt to retain her titles failed as she did not start the 400 m final, but she won silver in the 400 m hurdles behind Malaysia's Noraseela Mohd Khalid and anchored the Thai women's

team to the bronze medal. Making her fourth straight appearance at the regional event, Winatho took a clear victory in the 400 m hurdles at the

2005 Southeast Asian Games The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991. ...

in November. She also helped the Thai women to second place in the relay. The following February she entered the

indoor pentathlon The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day (formerly two days). The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with ...

at the

2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships was an international indoor athletics event took place in Pattaya, Thailand, between 10 and 12 February. This was the first edition to be hosted in the country. A total of 24 nations sent athletes to c ...

on home turf in

Pattaya Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...

. She saw off challenges from

Olga Rypakova Olga Rypakova Alekseyeva; 30 November 1984) is a former Kazakhstani track and field athlete. Originally a heptathlete, she switched to focus on the long jump and began to compete in the triple jump after 2007. Her first successes came in the co ...

and Liu Haili to claim the title with a competition record of 4431 points. The

2006 Asian Games The 2006 Asian Games (), officially known as the XV Asiad or 15th Asian Games (, and commonly known as Doha 2006 (), were an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the ga ...

saw her come fourth in the 400 m hurdles, beaten to the bronze by Mohd Khalid. She failed to finish the pentathlon at the

2007 Asian Indoor Games The 2007 Asian Indoor Games ( zh, 2007年亞洲室內運動會; ), officially known as the 2nd Asian Indoor Games and also known as Macau 2007, were held in Macau, China from 26 October 2007 to 3 November 2007. Most events of the games took place ...

, but still won a medal in the relay, anchoring home the Thai team to a national indoor record of 3:38.25 minutes. Winatho won an unprecedented triple at the

2007 Southeast Asian Games The 2007 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 24th Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand. This was the sixth time Thailand hosted the ...

held in

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima (, ) is the capital of Nakhon Ratchasima province, the largest city in Isan, Northeastern Thailand and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, third-largest city in Thailand. It is 250 km (1 ...

. She won golds for Thailand in the 400 m hurdles and the 400 m relay, but her best performance came in the heptathlon. Setting personal bests in every discipline but the 100 metres hurdles, she significantly improved upon her best with a total of 5889 points for a Thai and Games record. This was also the Olympic "B" standard, enabling her to compete at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. Winatho produced a pentathlon best and national record of 4184 points at the

2008 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The 2008 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships was an international indoor athletics event took place in Doha, Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on th ...

, but she was pushed into second place in the final

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

event, ending up with the silver behind Irina Naumenko. She made her debut on the world stage at the Beijing Olympics in August, but she did not manage to finish the event and dropped out in the third round. She returned to regional success the year after, taking the pentathlon title at the

2009 Asian Indoor Games The 2009 Asian Indoor Games (), officially the 3rd Asian Indoor Games () and also known as Vietnam 2009, were a pancontinential indoor multi-sport event held in Vietnam from 30 October till 8 November 2009. This was the last edition of the event ...

. She also came close to a triple defence at the

2009 Southeast Asian Games The 2009 Southeast Asian Games (, Romanization of Lao, translit. Kila phoumipak asi taven oak siang tai 2009), officially known as the 25th Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event hosted by Vientiane, Laos. This was the ...

, taking the heptathlon and relay titles, but she was outrun by her Malaysian rival Mohd Khalid in the hurdles. Her appearance in the heptathlon at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), were a regional multi-sport event held from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (although several events commenced ear ...

was cut short after she fell in the 100 m hurdles and did not finish the competition. In addition to her international medals, she has won numerous times at the

Thailand National Games The Thailand National Games () is a national multi-sport event held every two years among athletes from all over Thailand. The Games were regulated by the Organization of the Sport of Thailand (OST) from the first games in Bangkok, Thailand, f ...

, including a heptathlon and 400 m hurdles double at the

2006 Thailand National Games The 35th Thailand National Games ran from 9 September 2006 to 19 September 2006. It took place at the Suphan Buri Province Central Stadium. Sports * Aquatics (Swimming) * Athletics * Badminton * Baseball * Basketball * Billiards and Snooker * ...

, a 100 m hurdles/400 m hurdles/heptathlon triple at the 2007 Thailand National Games, and an individual title in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

in 2010.Wassanee Winatho
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2011-05-08. In

2011 SEA Games The 2011 Southeast Asian Games, () officially known as the 26th Southeast Asian Games, or the 26th SEA Games, and commonly known as Jakarta-Palembang 2011, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held from 11 to 22 November 2011 in Jakarta and ...

Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...

, Winatho clinched her tenth gold medal after winning the heptathlon, scoring 5448 points. However, an attempt to add another gold in 400 meter hurdles was prevented by the event specialist Noraseela Mohd Khalid of Malaysia. She clocked a season best of 58.97s.Jad Adrian Washif (2011-11-16)
SEA Games see records tumble; Thailand remains dominantIAAF
Retrieved 20 November 2011. At the

2013 SEA Games The 2013 Southeast Asian Games (, ), officially known as the 27th Southeast Asian Games, or the 27th SEA Games, and commonly known as Naypyitaw 2013, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event took place in Naypyidaw, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from 11 ...

in Myanmar, Winatho won the gold in the 400 meter hurdles in dramatic fashion, overtaking Quach Thi Lan in the final 5 meters, and also won another heptathlon gold. However, her final attempt to win a medal in the

women's heptathlon, at the 2014 Games in

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, was also cut short, this time withdrawing between the shot put and the 200 meters events due to a knee injury.เศร้า! วาสนาเข่าบิดถอนตัว สัตกรีฑา ปิดฉากเอเชียนเกมส์
Retrieved 28 August 2018. Winatho returned to winning ways at the

2017 SEA Games The 2017 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 29th Southeast Asian Games, or the 29th SEA Games, and commonly known as Kuala Lumpur 2017, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event that took place from 19 to 30 August 2017 in Kuala ...

in Kuala Lumpur, by claiming a bronze medal in the heptathlon, before retiring.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winatho, Wassana Living people 1980 births Wassana Winatho Wassana Winatho Wassana Winatho Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Wassana Winatho Wassana Winatho SEA Games medalists in athletics Wassana Winatho Wassana Winatho Wassana Winatho Competitors at the 1999 SEA Games Competitors at the 2001 SEA Games Competitors at the 2003 SEA Games Competitors at the 2005 SEA Games Competitors at the 2007 SEA Games Competitors at the 2009 SEA Games Competitors at the 2011 SEA Games Competitors at the 2013 SEA Games Competitors at the 2015 SEA Games Competitors at the 2017 SEA Games Wassana Winatho Asian Athletics Championships winners Asian Athletics Championships medalists