AT the pistol’s report, Suryo Agung Wibowo seemed to become deaf. He could hear nothing, not even the cheers of spectators in the Nakhon Ratchasima stadium in Thailand. What he had to focus on was his speed. “By breaking into a relentless run, the legs will be sprinting,” he related his coach’s instruction. And he did it perfectly. Agung reached the finish line first.

Still, Agung didn’t realize what he had just achieved. He could only