Swedish athlete David Thid, who competes in the 400-metre hurdles — a track event in which runners must clear 10 evenly spaced hurdles while sprinting one lap around the track — has announced that he will switch his sporting allegiance from Sweden to Thailand, becoming the second promising Swedish athletics talent this year to leave the country’s national team setup.
The 23-year-old, who has Thai family roots through his mother, said his decision was driven primarily by concerns over Sweden’s Olympic selection policy rather than a lack of attachment to Swedish athletics.
“It is mainly because I don’t trust the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) and the risk of not being selected for the Olympics even though I deserve the place,” Thid said, referring to the committee’s long-standing policy of only selecting athletes considered capable of finishing in the top 12 at the Olympic Games.
With a personal best of 49.12 seconds in the 400m hurdles, Thid is among Sweden’s leading active athletes in the event. Representing Thailand could improve his chances of qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, although he stressed that the selection policy was the decisive factor behind his move.
The switch follows a similar decision earlier this year by Swedish sprinter Nora Lindahl, who chose to represent Finland, citing comparable frustrations with Sweden’s Olympic selection system. The two cases have sparked renewed debate within Swedish athletics over whether the country’s strict Olympic criteria are driving talented athletes to compete for other nations.
Swedish Athletics Secretary General David Fridell described Thid’s departure as another warning sign, while national team coach Kajsa Bergqvist called it “a great loss” for Swedish athletics, although she said she respected his ambition to pursue an Olympic career through Thailand.
Under international athletics rules, athletes changing national allegiance are normally required to observe a waiting period before representing their new country in international competition. Thid hopes to obtain an exemption that would allow him to compete for Thailand from late 2027.
For Thailand, Thid’s arrival would strengthen the country’s athletics programme with an internationally experienced athlete entering his prime. His case also reflects Thailand’s policy of selecting overseas athletes with Thai heritage, rather than recruiting competitors without ancestral links to the country.
