Bangkok: Kirin Tantiwate, a Thai-American runner, broke the Thai half-marathon record after finishing 19th in the New York City Half Marathon with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 39 seconds.

According to Thai News Agency, the 2026 New York City Half Marathon, a 13.1-mile (21.1-kilometer) race held in New York City, USA, passed through several iconic New York landmarks and attracted over 30,000 runners. Among the competitors was Kirin Tantiwate, a Thai-American athlete and member of the Thai national track and field team, who won three gold medals at the 2025 SEA Games in the 1,500m, 5,000m, and 10,000m events. Kirin performed exceptionally well, finishing 19th with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 39 seconds. This result propelled Kirin to the new Thai half-marathon record, surpassing the previous record of 1:05:19 hours set by Nattawut Innum at the 2018 Bangsaen 21 race.

This makes Kirin Tantiwate the current Thai national record holder in three long-distance running events: 5,000 meters with a time of 13 minutes 15.67 seconds, 10,000 meters with a time of 27 minutes 17.14 seconds, and most recently, the half-marathon with a time of 1 hour 2 minutes 39 seconds.

However, his strongest distance is the 5,000 meters, where he is ranked 74th in the world with 1,170 accumulated points, according to the latest rankings from the World Athletics Federation in March 2026.