AP fileBANGKOK - A Thai Asian Games gold medalist will run around his training track naked after his prayers were answered as he awaited the result of a photo finish.
Sittichai Suwonprateep, who ran the last leg of the men’s 400-meter relay final Tuesday, said he prayed while waiting anxiously for a decision which ruled he had got to the finish line just ahead of Japan’s Shinji Takahira.
“I didn’t know what to do while waiting for the photo result, so I just told all the spirits and sacred objects I worship that if I won I would run naked,” Sittichai said.
“I am not sure if this gold medal was the result of my ability or the power of the spirits I prayed to,” said the 26-year-old naval officer, who won a gold in the same relay in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan.
Making promises to amulets, images or spirits is a common practice among Thais in largely Buddhist Southeast Asian nation.
But Sittichai declined to say when he would actually run naked.
“I won’t tell anyone when I will run. I am embarrassed about what I will be doing.”
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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