Thai Runner Kirin Hits World's Best 20km Time in 2026
Thai runner Kirin Tantiwet claimed the world's best 20km time in 2026 with a 58:03 finish, skipping regional games to focus on transitioning to marathon running ahead of a potential 2028 Olympic bid.
Kirin Tantiwet, a Thai national team runner, has reached world ranking number one in the 20-kilometre race category according to the latest World Athletics standings, based on the year's best performance (world lead). Kirin recently decided to skip competing for the Thai national team at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan and the 2027 Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia in order to transition from middle-distance to full long-distance running. Most recently, Kirin won the Facens Lower New Haven Road Race 20km event with a time of 58 minutes and 3 seconds, which became the year's best time for this distance and ranks 63rd all-time since records began in 1900. Kirin aims to progress to the full marathon and will compete in the Chicago Marathon in December this year, then return to compete for the Thai national team if she qualifies for the 2028 Olympic Marathon. The official qualifying standards for the 2028 Olympics have not yet been announced, but based on the 2024 Olympic qualifying standard, she would need to run faster than 2 hours 8 minutes and 10 seconds.
