Weightlifter Wandee Kameaim has finally been awarded her second Olympic bronze medal, nine years after she competed for it at the Beijing Games of 2008.
Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, chairman of the Olympics Committee of Thailand, presented Wandee with the bronze medal on Wednesday, ending her long and patient wait.
The native of Si Sa Ket came fourth in her event in the women's 58-kilogramme class in 2008. She narrowly missd a bronze, which was instead awarded to O Jong-ae because Wandee weighed 0.10kg more than the North Korean.
Both lifted a total of 226kg, and the medal was decided in favour of the lighter of the two.
"I apologise to the Thai people for failing to win a medal," Wandee said after the contest.
But her fortunes turned around when the Olympics International Committee stripped the silver medal from Marina Shainova last year for failing doping tests. The Korean then moved up to silver and Wandee gets the bronze.
"I'm proud to make all Thais happy and bring fame to Thailand, even though I've had to wait nine years for it," Wandee, who is a lieutenant junior grade in the Royal Thai Navy, said after receiving the medal and certificate from Gen Prawit at the Olympics Committee of Thailand offices.
With the medal from the Beijing competition, Wandee becomes the first female Thai athlete to win a medal at two Olympics. She also took the bronze in Athens in 2004.
The committee also awarded Wandee 4 million baht in cash from the National Sports Development Fund and a monthly salary of 8,000 for 20 years for her contribution to the country.