Discover the fascinating tale of a Thai weightlifter whose success and name went down in Olympic history
In the historical records of the Olympics, measurements are usually done in terms of seconds, metres, or kilograms. However, for Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon, her claim to fame is a record that is thirty-one letters long.
This Thai weightlifter won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and also has the honour of having the longest name of any Olympic champion. Now, let’s explore the inspiring history of this incredible athlete and her path to Olympic Games glory.
It was interesting to see how Prapawadee, formerly known as Junpim Kuntatean, changed her name. On the recommendation of a fortune teller, she changed her name to Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon in 2007. It's obvious that the name, which means "Good Girl, Prosperous," helped her discover the good fortune she was seeking.
It was apparent that Prapawadee was a weightlifter even before she changed her name. She participated in the 2005 World Weightlifting Championships, and she won the silver medal in the 53 kg division with a total lift of 223 kg (491.6 lbs). This laid a good foundation for her future performance and put her in a position to be a strong contender in the sport.
When Prapawadee hurt her elbow during the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships, it was a major setback for her. She had to take a three-month leave of absence to rehabilitate from this injury alone, which was extremely tough for anybody to do, much less an athlete. However, the unbreakable woman remained unfazed and soon returned to compete in the ring.
A unique record for Prapawadee // Picture Courtesy -- @sietecallero
Prapawadee's career may have taken a significant turn after the 2008 Olympics. For a brief period, she faced intense competition from numerous rivals in the women's 53 kg weightlifting event. Prapawadee's performance was exceptional, as indicated by her skills.
She gained the gold medal after lifting a total of 221 kg, which included 95 kg in the snatch and 126 kg in the clean and jerk. In addition to taking first place on the podium, she managed to shatter the Olympic record.
The women’s 53 kg weightlifting event in the 2008 Olympics was one of the most closely fought. South Korea’s Yoon Jin-hee won the silver medal, while Nastassia Novikava of Belarus won the bronze medal. The event was the second-lightest women’s weightlifting category, in which the participants could not exceed 53 kilogrammes of body weight. The total score of each athlete was the sum of the best results in the snatch and clean and jerk lifts
The victory of Prapawadee had an attached funny story to tell. Her name is so mouthful, with 31 letters, it could not even fit on the digital board during the event. However, the name was abbreviated to ‘J.’ This aspect of her name brought some fun to her historical victory and underlined the peculiarity of her record-breaking name.
The victory of Prapawadee was due to her talent, hard work, and the lucky charm of her name. Her victory in the gold medal was not only in Thailand but in the entire world, where she pulled herself to the Olympic success and wrote her name in the records literally.
