The 26th biannual SEA Games 2011 have come to an exciting conclusion in Southeast Asia. Indonesia -- the host of the Southeast Asian Games -- secured a decisive victory with Thailand, their regular rival and previous champion, coming in second.
The SEA Games are an exciting sports event with hundreds of the best athletes from Asia competing in a multitude of events.
The final medal results for the SEA Games 2011 are below!
What Are the SEA Games?
The Southeast Asian Games are a biannual, Olympic-style event that began in 1959 as the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games. The Games later expanded to include all 11 countries in Southeast Asia including:
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Singapore
- Cambodia
- Laos (Lao PDR)
- Vietnam
- Philippines
- East Timor (Timor Leste)
- Brunei
The SEA Games 2011
The SEA Games 2011 were hosted by Indonesia with events held in Palembang -- one of the oldest cities in Indonesia and capital of South Sumatra -- and Jakarta. The games ran from November 11 to November 22, with the closing ceremony in Palembang.
A virtual village was constructed for the hundreds of athletes, coaches, and support staff who attended the SEA Games. Indonesian naval ships were even converted into floating hotels to accommodate the record turnout of athletes.
The Southeast Asian Games 2011 had 542 gold medals up for grabs in 44 sporting events.
Events for 2011
Athletes and organizers have always criticized what is considered a major flaw in the Southeast Asian Games. Aside from the core, required sporting events, the host of the Games may add or drop events on a whim -- often removing events in which competing countries may have more skill.
Indonesia added kenpo, paragliding, bridge, vovinam, and wall climbing to the SEA Games 2011-- the first time these sports have debuted in the Games.
The official sporting events for the SEA Games 2011 were: aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, billiards, boat racing, bowling, boxing, bridge, chess, cycling, equestrian, fencing, finswimming, golf, gymnastics, judo, karate, kayaking, kenpo, paragliding, pencak silat, petanque, rowing, sailing, sepak takraw, shooting, soccer, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, water skiing, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu, vovinam, and wall climbing.
Logo and Mascots for the SEA Games 2011
The official mascots for the SEA Games 2011 are two friendly Komodo dragons -- known as Modo and Modi -- from the Komodo National Park. Currently on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Komodo dragons were chosen to show the Indonesian government's conservation efforts to save the world's largest lizards.
The SEA Games 2013
The next iteration of the Southeast Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Naypyidaw -- the new capital of Myanmar (Burma). The decision to host the games in Myanmar was considered controversial by some because of the Myanmar regime's human rights record. Visitors worry that Myanmar's history of media and internet censorship will detract from coverage of the Games.
Singapore currently holds the bid to host the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. Read about how to enjoy Singapore on a budget.
The SEA Games 2011 Results
With 478 total medals, Indonesia was the clear winner of the SEA Games 2011. The large margin of victory is considered quite a feat; Thailand finished in second place with 328 total medals.
The SEA Games 2011 are the first time that Indonesia has won the Southeast Asian Games since 1997. Thailand won the previous two rounds of the Games in 2007 and 2009.
The official website for the SEA Games 2011 has detailed information with medals tallies for each event.
Southeast Asian Games 2011 Results
| Rank | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| #1 | Indonesia | 182 | 151 | 145 |
| #2 | Thailand | 109 | 100 | 119 |
| #3 | Vietnam | 96 | 92 | 99 |
| #4 | Malaysia | 59 | 50 | 81 |
| #5 | Singapore | 42 | 45 | 73 |
| #6 | Philippines | 36 | 56 | 78 |
| #7 | Myanmar | 16 | 27 | 39 |
| #8 | Laos | 9 | 12 | 36 |
| #9 | Cambodia | 4 | 11 | 24 |
| #10 | East Timor | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| #11 | Brunei | 0 | 4 | 7 |
