Thailand led the Asian Beach Games athletics gold-medal table with three titles as Hainan’s Sanya Phoenix Island staged the track and field events on sand.
The three-day programme at the 6th Asian Beach Games featured 10 medal events, including men’s and women’s 60m sprint, 4x60m relay, long jump, high jump and shot put.
Thailand won gold in the men’s 60m, women’s 60m and women’s 4x60m relay, led by sprinter Puripol Boonson.
Host China finished as the overall athletics medal leader with 13 medals, including golds in the men’s 4x60m relay and women’s shot put.
Organisers held most events on dry, sifted sand laid over compacted clay, while the shot put remained on its regular surface.
Boonson said racing on sand required major adjustments from track running, adding that the surface tested strength and balance.
China sprinter Huang Youchao said the sand absorbed force, slowing his times by about 0.1 to 0.2 seconds compared with his training results.
China’s high jumper Zhang Hao adapted his run-up technique to win silver with 2.05m, saying a lighter, toe-first approach worked better on sand.
Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad, president of the Asian Athletics Association, called the Sanya meet a special competition and said feedback would help officials assess whether they could add more events in future editions.
