Torwai Sethsothorn ( th, ต่อวัย เสฏฐโสธร; born February 14, 1982, in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

) is a Thai former swimmer, who specialized in long-distance freestyle but also competed in backstroke and individual medley. He is a single-time Olympian (2000), and a multiple-time SEA Games gold medalist. Sethsothorn is also the brother of 1998 Asian Games champion

Torlarp Sethsothorn Torlarp Sethsothorn (born 24 September 1979) is a Thai former swimmer who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the C ...

. Before his Olympic debut, Sethsothorn left his native country Thailand for a two-year residency in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He lived with his uncle in

Cypress, California Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County within Southern California. Its population was 50,151 at the 2020 census. History The first people living in the area now known as Cypress were the Gabrieleno, a Native American tribe of the Ton ...

, and later studied at the

Mission Viejo High School Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive education, comprehensive State school, public secondary education in the United States, high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unif ...

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

. He also trained, along with two other swimmers Juan Veloz of Mexico and

Carlo Piccio Juan Carlos Tanpinco Piccio (born July 6, 1981) is a Filipino former swimmer, who specialized in long-distance freestyle and in individual medley events. He won a total of three medals, two silvers and one bronze, at the Southeast Asian Games (19 ...

of the Philippines, for Davie Nadadores Club under head coach Terry Stoddard. While swimming for his respective club, Sethsothorn had earned numerous high school titles including his first triumph from the Mission Viejo Invitational in 2000. Sethsothorn competed in four individual events, as an 18-year-old, at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He posted a FINA A-standard of 4:22.61 (400 m individual medley) from the U.S. National Championships in

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fe ...

. In the

400 m freestyle 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, held on the first day of the Games, Sethsothorn posted a lifetime best of 3:56.68 to lead the third heat, finishing twenty-fourth from the prelims. The following day, in the 400 m individual medley, Sethsothorn placed thirty-second in a time of 4:28.42, almost six seconds off his entry time. Three days later, in the 200 m backstroke, Sethsothorn placed thirty-fifth on the morning prelims. Swimming in heat two, he picked up a fourth spot by one hundredth of a second (0.01) behind Argentina's

Eduardo Germán Otero Eduardo Germán Otero (born February 4, 1980) is an Argentine former swimmer, who specialized in backstroke and butterfly events. He is a three-time Olympian, a multiple-time national record holder, and a two-time champion for the 50 m backstroke ...

in 2:05.52. In his final event,

1500 m freestyle Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

, Sethsothorn challenged seven other swimmers in heat three, including top favorites Ricardo Monasterio of Venezuela and

Spyridon Gianniotis Spyridon "Spyros" Gianniotis (; born 19 February 1980) is a Greek competitive swimmer who specialises in long-distance and open-water freestyle events. He is an Olympic silver medalist, two-time World Champion, World Cup gold medalist, and two ...

of Greece. He raced to fourth place and twenty-eighth overall by almost ten seconds behind Gianniotis in 15:39.60. At the

2001 Southeast Asian Games The 2001 Southeast Asian Games ( ms, Sukan Asia Tenggara 2001), officially known as the 21st Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was the fifth time that Malaysia plays as SEA Games ...

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, Sethsothorn won a total of three gold medals each in the 400 m individual medley (4:29.43), 400 m freestyle (3:58.18), and 1500 m freestyle (15:49.72).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sethsothorn, Torwai 1982 births Living people Torwai Sethsothorn Torwai Sethsothorn Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Torwai Sethsothorn Male backstroke swimmers Male medley swimmers Torwai Sethsothorn SEA Games medalists in swimming Torwai Sethsothorn Competitors at the 2001 SEA Games Swimmers at the 1998 Asian Games Torwai Sethsothorn Torwai Sethsothorn