© SYOGOC
Factfile
Name	Siripon Kaewduang-Ngam
Nation	Thailand, THA
Date of Birth	27 July 1994
Place of Birth	Chonburi, Thailand
Website	http://www.windsurfingthailand.org/

It's all about firsts for Thailand's Siripon Kaewduang-Ngam and her achievements over the past year have placed her in the history books forever. Ngam started windsurfing when she was 13 and by the time she was 16 she was making her mark on the international stage. Ngam won the Asian Championships in January 2010 to claim her place at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore sailing the Techno 293.

She may have been one of the favourites going into YOG but her sheer domination of the girl's windsurfing event has earned her another spot in the history books as the first sailor from Thailand to ever be nominated for this award.

Eleven races were sailed in Singapore and the winner of an incredible seven of these was Ngam. She was unstoppable and didn't finish any race outside the top ten. The gold medal was secured before the final day of competition so she can also claim to have won the first ever Youth Olympic Games sailing medal.

This star of the future demonstrated a cool head by sailing a conservative final race, reminding herself to "just think about crossing the finish line".

Tehcno 293 Windsurfer

1 - Asian Championship, Pattaya, Thailand - Jan 2010
1 - Youth Olympic Games, Singapore - Aug 2010 (won 7 of 11 races)

Q&A

What inspired you to take up sailing?

Siling uses both physical and mental skill, that is so challenging me to discover and sailing is also a favourite outdoor sport for the King of Thailand. And he is also my inspiration, I try to be as good a sailor as I can be, I wish to offer him for this achievement.

What was the first boat you ever sailed and how old were you?

A windsurfer, with a 5.0m2 sail when I was 13 years old.

Name your first sailing club

Pattaya Windsurfing Club

What was the first event you competed in and in what year?

2007 Pattaya City Windsurfing Cup and Thailand Windsurfing Championship

What are you personal sailing career highlights?

2010 Youth Olympic Games gold medal

Who has had the greatest impact on your sailing and career and why?

Thailand's Olympic sailing team

Who has had the greates impact on your sailing career and why?

Mr Pattana Boonsawad (Mr Yai!) - the person who dedicated himself for Thailand Windsurfing
Mr Prapat Sang-Ngern (Mr Geng) - the first coach and also teacher who is always teaching both windsurf tactics and a good way of life

Who is your sailing hero?

Mr Prapat Sang-Ngern - formal youth windsurfer of Thailand
Mr Ek Boonsawad - national windsurfer

What other sports do you enjoy?

None

What does being nominated for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards mean to you and how would you feel if you were voted the winner?

It will be the greatest time of my life and also of my country. But my achievements cannot be true without Mr Yai, Mr Geng, all of my training partners, Windsurfing Assocation of Thailand (WATH) coaches, the WATH, Pattaya City and all of sponsors both former and present who support WATH for equipment and training costs. I would like to offer this achievement to them and especially the King of Thailand.