Athletics is one of the regular sports at the biennial Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) competition, which has been competed at the Games since the inaugural edition of the South East Asian Peninsular Games (SEAP) in 1959.
Athletics is the competition with the most medal events, with 48 of total 530 gold medal in 2019 edition.
| Games | Year | Host city | Host country |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1959 () | Bangkok |  Thailand |
| II | 1961 () | Rangoon |  Burma |
| III | 1963 (Cancelled) | ? |  Cambodia |
| III | 1965 () | Kuala Lumpur |  Malaysia |
| IV | 1967 () | Bangkok | Thailand |
| V | 1969 () | Rangoon | Burma |
| VI | 1971 () | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia |
| VII | 1973 () | Singapore |  Singapore |
| VIII | 1975 () | Bangkok | Thailand |
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The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
The 1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, officially known as the 1st Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, was the first and inaugural edition of the biennial multi-sport event for Southeast Asian athletes, organised by the SEAP Games Federation. It was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 12 to 17 December 1959 with 12 sports featured in the games. Cambodia, one of the six founding members of the SEAP Games Federation, did not compete at the inaugural edition. For the first time and first among all Southeast Asian nations, Thailand hosted the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, which later known as the Southeast Asian Games. The games was opened and closed by Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand at the Suphachalasai Stadium. The final medal tally was led by host Thailand, followed by its neighbouring countries, Burma and Malaya.
The 1965 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, officially known as the 3rd Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 14 to 21 December 1965 with 14 sports featured in the games. Originally to be hosted by Laos, the third edition of the games was hosted by Malaysia after the former was not able to honour its hosting commitment citing financial difficulties and would later known to have hosted the 2009 Southeast Asian Games decades later. Two years earlier, the third SEAP Games was cancelled as Cambodia pulled out of hosting the event due to internal strife. This was the first time Malaysia host the games. Malaysia is the third country to host the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, which later known as the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand and Myanmar, then Burma. The games was opened and closed by Ismail Nasiruddin, the King of Malaysia at the Stadium Merdeka. The final medal tally was led by Thailand followed by host Malaysia and Singapore.
The 1967 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, officially known as the 4th Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Bangkok, Thailand from 9 to 16 December 1967 with 16 sports featured in the games. Cambodia once again declined to host this edition of the games, as it did in 1963. This was Thailand's second time hosting the Southeast Asian Games, and its first time since the 1959 inaugural games. The games was opened and closed by Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand at the Suphachalasai Stadium. The final medal tally was led by host Thailand, followed by Singapore and Malaysia.
The 1969 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, officially known as the 5th Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Rangoon, Burma from 6 to 13 December 1969 with 15 sports featured in the games. Republic of Vietnam had reluctantly declined to host this edition because the attack of the North Vietnam in 1968. Singapore, the youngest member of the SEAP Games Federation at the time, suggested in this edition of the games to change the name of the sports festival to the Southeast Asia Games. Although it was not officially stated, the inclusion of the Philippines and Indonesia in the expanded federation was to greatly help alleviate the hosting problems, as well as to set higher and more competitive standards in the games. After hosting the 5th edition, Burma declined hosting succeeding games due to lack of financial capability. This was Burma's second time to host the games and its first time since 1961. The games was opened and closed by Ne Win, the Prime Minister and Chairman of Union Revolutionary Council of Burma at the Bogyoke Aung San Stadium. The final medal tally was led by host Burma, followed by Thailand and Singapore.
The 1985 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 13th Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Bangkok, Thailand from 8 to 17 December 1985.
The 1989 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 15th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20 to 31 August 1989 with 25 sports featured in the games. It was officially opened by 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Azlan Shah. Although Cambodia did not participate, Laos returned to compete for the first time under the new federation name in this edition of the games, while Vietnam fields their own delegation to the event for the first time as a unified country.
The 1991 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 16th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Manila, the Philippines from 24 November to 3 December 1991, with 28 sports featured in the games. This was the second time that the country hosted the games and its first since 1981. It was officially opened by President Corazon Aquino at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila through a colorful opening ceremony. It was the only SEA Games at that time where the overall championship was heavily contested. The deciding medal came from the last sporting event - women's marathon where Indonesia got the gold medal.
The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes representing 20 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games. The program featured competitions in 13 different sports encompassing 97 events, including four non-Olympic sports, judo, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. Four of these competition sports – field hockey, table tennis, tennis and volleyball – were introduced for the first time in the Asian Games.
The 2013 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 27th Southeast Asian Games, or the 27th SEA Games, and commonly known as Naypyitaw 2013, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event took place in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from 11 to 22 December 2013, Around 4730 athletes from 11 participating nations competed at the games, which featured 460 events in 34 sports. The games were held from 11 to 22 December 2013.
Football has been part of the Southeast Asian Games sport since the 1959 edition. The women's football competition was held for the first time in 1985 in Thailand.
Sports in Thailand play a significant role in Thai culture, with both participants and spectators engaging in a wide variety of activities. Muay Thai, a traditional martial art, is deeply ingrained in Thai history and has evolved into national sport. Aside from muay Thai, association football is the most popular sport in Thailand, followed by volleyball and badminton. There is also a diverse range of sports that are also popular throughout the country, including tennis, golf, swimming, athletics, cycling, motorsports, snooker, and sepak takraw, which is one of Thailand's two national sports along with muay Thai. Water sports such as scuba diving, kiteboarding, jet skiing, surfboarding, rafting, sea kayaking, windsurfing, wakeboarding, long boat racing, and long-tail boat racing are also popular among sports tourists and locals alike.
The athletics competition at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games was held from 12 to 16 November at the Jakabaring Stadium in Palembang, Indonesia. Over the five-day competition a total of 46 events were contested with 23 contests for each gender, matching the Olympic athletics program minus the men's 50 km race walk. Six SEA Games records were broken and twenty national records were surpassed.
At the 22nd Southeast Asian Games, the athletics events were held at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam from 7 to 12 December 2003. A total of 45 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 22 by female category.
Wassana Winatho, also known as Amornrat Winatho and Vassanee Vinatho, is a Thai track and field athlete who specialises in the heptathlon and the 400 metres hurdles. She represented Thailand at the 2008 Summer Olympics and competed at five consecutive editions of the Asian Games.
Wachara Sondee is a Thai track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events. He primarily competes in the 100 metres and 60 metres and is the Thai national record holder for the shorter distance with his best of 6.65 seconds.
The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, was the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which was held in the Philippines from November 30 to December 11, 2019. However, due to a narrow calendar, some sports started before the opening ceremony as early as November 24.
At the 2001 Southeast Asian Games, the athletics events were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 46 events were contested, of which 24 by male and 22 by female athletes. The track and field events were hosted at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, the marathons were held around Merdeka Square, and the racewalking events took place at Titiwangsa Lake Gardens.
Athletics competitions at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games were held at the National Stadium, East Coast Park and Kallang Practice Track in Singapore from 6 to 12 June. A total of 46 athletics events are featured at the 28th SEA Games, divided evenly between the sexes. The marathon started and finished in the stadium and had a route in the surrounding area including the East Coast Park, Marina Bay and the Gardens by the Bay.
The 2021 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 31st Southeast Asian Games,31st SEA Games or SEA Games 31, and also recognized as Viet Nam 2021, was the 31st edition of the Southeast Asian Games, the biennial regional multi-sport event which was held in Hanoi, Vietnam and its surrounding cities from 12 to 23 May 2022.
