Sohn Kee-chung
Sohn Kee-chung at the 1936 Olympics
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| Personal information | ||||||||||
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| Nationality |
 South Korea
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| Born |
August 29, 1912 Sinuiju, North Pyongan, Japanese Korea |
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| Died | November 15, 2002 (aged 90) Seoul, South Korea |
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| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (130 lb) | |||||||||
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Medal record
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| Sohn Kee-chung | |
| Hangul | 손기정 |
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| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Son Gijeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Son Kijŏng |
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Japanese pronunciation: Son Kitei |
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Sohn Kee-chung (Korean: 손기정; August 29, 1912 – November 15, 2002) became the first medal-winning Korean Olympian, when he won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a member of the Japanese delegation.
He competed under the Japanese name Son Kitei, as Korea was part of the Japanese Empire at the time. The name is based on the Japanese kanji pronunciation of his Korean hanja name, both are written the same.
Sohn Kee-chung was born in Sinuiju (Sinuiju), North P'yŏngan Province, North Korea, occupied by Japan at the time. He studied at Yangjeong High School () in Seoul and Meiji University in Tokyo, where he graduated in 1940.
Sohn first competed in the 1,500 and 5,000 m, but turned to longer distances after winning an 8-mile race in October 1933. Between 1933 and 1936, he ran 12 marathons; he finished within the first three places on all occasions and won nine of those races. On November 3, 1935 in Tokyo, Japan, Sohn Kee-chung set a world record in the marathon with a time of 2h26:42. According to the International Association of Athletics Federations, this record remained unbroken until Sohn's own trainee, Suh Yun-Bok, won the 1947 Boston marathon.
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