A disabled Thai athlete gave birth to a baby girl two days after winning a gold medal in the discus event at the Asean ParaGames in Manila, officials said on Wednesday.
Wanna Ladee (22) said she didn’t tell anyone about her pregnancy because she was in desperate need of money for her newborn.
Wanna, whose right leg is crippled, complained to sports officials last Monday of stomach pains and was rushed to a hospital in Manila where she delivered a healthy child, said Jaturaporn na Nakorn, deputy director of the Sports Authority of Thailand.
”I was stunned and speechless when I was informed by the Thai sports staff that our athlete gave birth to a child only two days after she won the gold medal,” Jaturaporn told reporters.
Wanna will receive a 50 000 baht ($1 250) reward for winning a gold medal in the discus as well as a bronze in the shot-put event, Jaturaporn said.
Wanna was among 164 Thai athletes taking part in the December 14 to 20 event for the disabled that followed the South-East Asian Games in the Philippine capital. More than 1 000 disabled athletes from 11 countries participated in the ParaGames.
”I did not tell anyone about my pregnancy because I needed the reward money for my coming child,” Wanna told a Thai radio station interviewing her at the hospital.
The Sports Authority of Thailand is to investigate how officials allowed the eight-months pregnant woman to take part in the games and blamed the host country for not conducting dope tests from her urine, which would have detected her condition. — Sapa-AP