Joshua revealed the behind-the-scenes story of the SEA Games in Cambodia, expressing uncertainty before his comeback to win gold in the men's 400 meters at the 2025 SEA Games.
On 12 Dec 2025 GMT+7, Joshua Robert Atkinson, a Thai-Australian runner and four-time gold medalist at the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam (400m, 800m, men's 4×400m relay, and mixed 4×400m relay), opened up emotionally after clinching the men's 400m gold at the 2025 SEA Games hosted by Thailand. He recorded an impressive time of 45.13 seconds, breaking the previous record of 46.00 seconds set by Khunanon Sukkaew in 2015, a decade ago.
Immediately after the race, Joshua said he could hardly believe his eyes seeing the time of 45.13 seconds, because his personal best (PB) was still in the low 46 seconds range just 2–3 years ago. “This is a truly major PB. I didn’t expect to come back running the 400 meters like this.”
He shared that he had only seriously started training for the 400 meters for one month because he was dissatisfied with his 800 meters time before arriving in Thailand last month.
“I never intended to return to running the 400 meters. Last month, I was still focused on the 800 meters, but I wasn’t happy with my time, so I switched to full 400-meter training for just one month. Today, I’m both surprised and speechless, but very happy. I’m glad to come back like this.”
Over the past two years, the 22-year-old runner faced many challenges, both personal and in his performance, which did not progress like when he won 4 gold medals in Vietnam. But what kept him from giving up was “Thailand” and the support from Thai sports fans.
“The last competition was in Korea in May, and before that Cambodia. I didn’t perform well. Like I said, in the past 1–2 years, my performance wasn’t what I hoped for. Looking back to Vietnam, I won 4 gold medals. Then a year later in Cambodia, I didn’t win any individual medals, only two silvers in relays. That hurt a lot. But one thing that pushed me not to give up was representing Thailand, which I’m very proud of. The support here is amazing, truly different from Australia where I grew up.”
“I’m happy to compete for Thailand and very excited about the upcoming competitions in the next few days. I hope to win another 3 gold medals; that’s my current goal.”
Without going into too much detail, before I went to Vietnam, my coach and I had some issues, so I left the team and competed in Cambodia, Korea, and China without resources, unlike before Vietnam. I knew if I stayed in that situation, I wouldn’t improve, so I had to return to the foundation that made me better.
“Fortunately, about a year ago, my coach and I reconciled, and I returned to train with my old coach again, which I must say is the main reason I’m back performing like this. My coach is very skilled, and I’m truly grateful.”
Joshua added, “I know athletics in Thailand isn’t a major sport like in the US or Kenya, which have long dominated the athletics world. Thailand still lacks confidence, with only a few athletes like Biu Puripol, me, and Kirin Tantivet. There aren’t many.”
“I’m glad to be one of the few Thai athletes representing the country, and I hope to compete in the Olympics in the future. I’m really happy with today.”