Glammed-up weightlifter wins again

You enjoyed watching Olympic heroine Pimsiri “Taew” Sirikaew in action. Now you can admire her in a different light. Lips magazine has given Taew a makeover and put her on the cover. Without the butch team vest and the medal, she looks like a glamour model. 

Her feminine side is on view again in a fashion spread full of fancy dresses and hairdos, even as Taew admits she hardly ever wears dresses because they look odd on her weightlifter physique. Lips comes right out and asks if she’s a tomboy. Nope. “Of course I’m interested in men!” she laughs.

She had a tough upbringing on the family farm and naturally it wasn’t easy climbing the competitive ladder to qualify for the Olympics. But just because she now has the medal, fame and prize money, she has no intention of slacking off. She plans to compete in the Rio Games in 2016. “I don’t think I’m at my peak yet,” says the diminutive 22-year-old. “I foresee being in top form when I’m 24 or 25.” 

Taew also sees herself in uniform. “I want to join the military and pay the country back. It wouldn’t be much different from being an athlete, anyway, in terms of discipline.”

Any chance she might blow the Bt10 million she pocketed for snagging a medal, as some bewitched Olympic heroes did? Taew says the family has hardly touched the money. “My mum says it’s my money and she wouldn’t spend any without my consent. But if you ask me how much I have I couldn’t tell you because the [weightlifting] association takes care of it.”

How about going into show business then, as other famous Thai athletes have done? Taew says she isn’t bothered about appearing in a TV series, but she wouldn’t mind being a comedian.

“My idol is Phi Tukky [Sudarat “Tukky” Butprom]. I secretly dream of performing with her. And I want to know who’s taller – her or me!”

We think Tukky ought to grab the opportunity.