Prajim Wongsuwan

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full namePrajim•Wongsuwan
Used namePrajim•Wongsuwan
Original nameประจิม•วงศ์ สวรรค์
Born13 August 1938 in Kanchanaburi, Kanchanaburi (THA)
Died20 January 1990
Measurements171 cm / 64 kg
NOC Thailand

Biography

Prajim Wongsuwan’s first major championship was the 1958 Asian Games where he took leave from training as a military cadet to form part of the Thai 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relay teams that both took 5th place in their respective finals. Individually, he failed to progress from the heats of the 200m. His Olympic appearance in Rome was less impressive as he placed 41st of 47 in the long jump qualifying, and his presence in the sprint relay was fleeting as Wongsuwan’s team finished last in their heat. A second Asian Games in 1962 saw him again compete in the 4 x 100m but, unlike four years earlier, his team failed to qualify for the final.

After 1962 he focussed on his military career and had reached the rank of Sergeant Major when he resigned from the Thai Army in 1967. Wongsuwan then organized a group of mercenaries to fight alongside regular Thai Army, US and South Vietnamese forces against Northern Vietnamese forces intent of overthrowing the government of Laos. He was wounded in the conflict, and spent time in a prisoner of war camp in Điện Biên Phủ, Vietnam before being released and returned to Thailand in 1973.

On returning home he used his military knowledge to forge a new career as a novelist under the pen name Sumuphu Thotphon. Unsurprisingly his sixteen published books were based on his own experiences as a mercenary, with one of the most popular made into a successful film in 1977 under the title “Haek kai narok dien bien phu” or “The Great Escape from Dien Bien Phu” in its English translation. Wonsuwan died relatively young, succumbing to heart disease in 1990 at the age of 53.

Personal Bests: 100 – unknown; LJ – unknown.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1960 Summer Olympics Athletics THA Prajim Wongsuwan
4 × 100 metres Relay, Men (Olympic) Thailand 5 h1 r1/3
Long Jump, Men (Olympic) 41 r1/2