Sohn Kee-chung

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In this
Sohn
.
Sohn Kee-chung
Sohn in 1936
Personal information
Native name孫基禎 > 손기정
Nationality Japan(1912~1945) >  South Korea(1945~2002)
Born(1912-08-29)August 29, 1912
Shingishu, Heianhoku-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan (now Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, North Korea)
DiedNovember 15, 2002(2002-11-15) (aged 90)
Seoul, South Korea
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Korean name
Hangul
손기정
Hanja
Revised RomanizationSon Gijeong
McCune–ReischauerSon Kijŏng
Sport
SportAthletics
Now coaching
Suh Yun-Bok
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals
Medal record
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1936 Berlin Marathon

Sohn Kee-chung (

1936 Berlin Olympics. He was born in the Korean Peninsula, but he competed as a member of the Japanese delegation because Korea was under Japanese occupation at the time.[3] Sohn set an Olympic record of 2 hours 29 minutes 19.2 seconds.[4]

Sohn competed under the Japanese name Kitei Son, as

Japanese Empire during his career.[3][4]

Early life

Sohn Kee-chung was born in what is now

North P'yŏngan Province, North Korea, which was occupied by Japan at the time. He was born into the Miryang Son clan [ko].[5] He studied at Yangchung High School in Seoul and Meiji University
in Tokyo, where he graduated in 1940.

Athletics career

Sohn first competed in the 1,500 and 5,000 m, but turned to longer distances after winning an eight-mile race in October 1933. Between 1933 and 1936, he ran 12 marathons; he finished in the top three on all occasions and won nine.

Suh Yun-Bok, won the 1947 Boston Marathon.[6][8]
Unofficially, he even ran a marathon with a time under 2:24 on April 27, 1935 in Seoul, South Korea.

1936 Berlin Olympics

Sohn Kee-chung, 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics

Sohn, competing for the

1936 Summer Olympics medal count
.

On December 9, 2011, the IOC recognized Sohn's Korean nationality in his official profile. It cited his efforts to sign his Korean name and his stress on Korea's status as a separate nation during interviews. The move was part of the Korean Olympic Committee's repeated requests to acknowledge Sohn's background. However, the IOC ruled out changing the nationality and registered name per official records to prevent historical distortions.[9]

Political significance

Under orders from Tokyo, Sohn Kee-chung had to compete using the Latin alphabet name of Son Kitei. It is the romanization of the Japanese pronunciation of his Korean name in hanja.[10]

Sohn refused to acknowledge the Japanese anthem while it was played at his award ceremony and later told reporters that he was ashamed to run for Japan.

Kempetai military police imprisoned eight people connected with the newspaper and suspended its publication for nine months.[11][12]

Hellenic prize

For winning the marathon, Sohn was to have received an ancient

National Treasure.[15] There was initially a plan to award replicas of this helmet to the winners of the 2006 Sohn Kee-chung marathon,[16] but they eventually got only a chance to wear a replica.[17]

Later life

The Corinthian helmet that was awarded to Sohn Kee-chung, on display at the National Museum of Korea.

Sohn was the team manager for the Korea at the

Olympic torch in the stadium during the opening ceremony.[3][19]

Sohn authored an autobiography entitled My Motherland and Marathon (나의조국과 마라톤).

He was honoured with the Moran Class of the Korean Order of Civil Merit.

Death and legacy

Sohn died at midnight on November 15, 2002, at age 90 from

Order of Sport Merit
.

In popular culture

Sohn appears in

Yu Miri
's semi-autobiographical novel The End of August (『８月の果て』) about her grandfather, Yang Im-deuk, who was a rival of Sohn's when they were young.

Actors who played Sohn Kee-chung

References

  1. ^ Lewis, Mike (November 29, 2002). "Sohn Kee-chung: Korean athlete whose Olympic protest made him a national hero". The Guardian. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
  2. ^ "World Marathon Rankings for 1935". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. September 20, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Son Gi-Jeong. www.sports-reference.com
  4. ^ a b c Longman, Jeré (November 14, 2009). "Korean Olympic Hero Championed Liberty". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  5. ^ "밀성손씨 - 디지털밀양문화대전". Encyclopedia of Korean Local Culture. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. p. 565. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ Men's World Record Times – 1932 to 1938. Marathonguide.com. Retrieved on June 9, 2015.
  8. ^ However, Suh’s performance was set on a course considered to be short by some[who?] road racing authorities, which means Sohn's world record would have lasted until the early 1950s. (See the Association of Road Racing Statistician's web pages regarding the Boston Marathon and World Best Progressions.)
  9. ^ The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea – Late Recognition for Korean Olympic Athlete Sohn Kee-chung. English.chosun.com (December 16, 2011). Retrieved on 2015-06-09.
  10. ^ Sohn Kee-chung. beijing2008.cn
  11. ^ Bull, Andy (August 27, 2011). "The forgotten story of Sohn Kee-chung, Korea's Olympic hero". The Guardian.
  12. ^ Athletics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games: Men's Marathon. sports-reference.com
  13. New York Times
    .
  14. ^ Marathon Winner in '36 Berlin Games Will Be Given Prize—50 Years Late. Reuters. August 10, 1986
  15. ^ "Ancient Greek Bronze Helmet". National Museum of Korea. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "손기정 평화마라톤 우승자에 '청동투구' 수여(Korean)". The Hankyoreh. September 20, 2006.
  17. ^ "'손기정 평화마라톤' 임진각서 열려(Korean)". Media Daum/Yonhap News Agency. November 11, 2006.
  18. ^ "Son Gi-Jeong". olympedia.org. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Sohn Kee-chung". The Korea Times. Retrieved November 4, 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sohn Kee-chung.
Records
Preceded by
Men's Marathon World Record Holder

November 3, 1935 – April 19, 1947 		Succeeded by
Suh Yun-Bok
Olympic Games
Preceded by
Final Summer Olympic Torchbearer
1988 Seoul
With: Chung Sun-Man & Kim Won-tak
 Succeeded by
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