26 Facts About Ratapong Sirisanont

Ratapong "Nuk" Sirisanont is a Thai former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke, but competed in long-distance freestyle and individual medley.

Ratapong Sirisanont is a four-time Olympian, a three-time Asian Games participant, and a seven-time SEA Games athlete.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Sirisanont became the first Thai swimmer to reach the final twice.

Ratapong Sirisanont is one of three Southeast Asian swimmers, along with Malaysia's Alex Lim and Philippines' Miguel Molina, to train for the California Golden Bears in the United States, under head coach Nort Thornton.

Ratapong Sirisanont began swimming at age seven, despite that he did not like the sport much at first.

In 1991, Ratapong Sirisanont was selected to the Thai national team at his first Southeast Asian Games in Manila, where he won six medals.

Ratapong Sirisanont's name was reached towards an early sport popularity, when he broke SEA Games records in three different events.

Ratapong Sirisanont made his first Thai team, as a sixteen-year-old teen, at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Ratapong Sirisanont was ranked about the "middle of the road" in his individual events, finishing twenty-seventh in the 1500 m freestyle, twenty-ninth in the 400 m individual medley, and thirty-ninth each in the 400 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley.

Shortly after his first Olympics, Ratapong Sirisanont left his home nation Thailand to train for the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.

When he qualified for the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, Ratapong Sirisanont made his name as Thailand's best swimmer after winning two gold medals in swimming.

Ratapong Sirisanont missed the title by less than one second behind Xiong in a time of 4:20.03, leaving his country's fans to a distress.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ratapong Sirisanont competed in five swimming events, including his nation's place in the men's medley relay.

Ratapong Sirisanont failed to reach the final in two of his individual events, finishing twenty-sixth in the 100 m breaststroke, and twentieth in the 200 m breaststroke.

Ratapong Sirisanont placed fifteenth in the 200 m individual medley, and twelfth in the 400 m individual medley, which were both considered a best result for Thailand in swimming.

Ratapong Sirisanont was a member of the swimming and diving team for the California Golden Bears under head coach Nort Thornton.

In 1999, Ratapong Sirisanont became the first swimmer in Southeast Asia to earn two Pac-10 Championship titles in the 200 m breaststroke and 400 m individual medley.

When Thailand hosted the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Ratapong Sirisanont was expected to defend his titles in both 200 and 400 m individual medley.

Ratapong Sirisanont lost both of his titles to Japan's Takahiro Mori and China's Xiong Guoming, who rivaled him in Hiroshima four years earlier.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Ratapong Sirisanont drastically shortened his program, swimming only in the 200 m breaststroke.

At his third Asian Games, Ratapong Sirisanont won a bronze in the 200 m breaststroke, with his personal best of 2:15.81.

Ratapong Sirisanont campaigned for another medal in the 400 m individual medley, but pulled off with a seventh-place effort in 4:32.30.

Ratapong Sirisanont won a total of four gold medals each in the 100 m breaststroke, 200 m breaststroke, 200 m individual medley, and 400 m individual medley.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Ratapong Sirisanont decided to focus more on the breaststroke, in which he had performed poorly in Sydney four years earlier.

Ratapong Sirisanont missed the semifinals by 0.71 of a second, finishing his Olympic run in nineteenth overall from the preliminaries.

Shortly after his fourth Olympics, Ratapong Sirisanont officially announced his retirement.