http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang_Marathon
Kim Jung-Won according to Wikipedia won the 1996 Pyongyang Marathon in 2:10:50. Is this another scheme like the Kim Jong-il perfect golf game?
Kim Jung-Won according to Wikipedia won the 1996 Pyongyang Marathon in 2:10:50. Is this another scheme like the Kim Jong-il perfect golf game?
That race qualified him for the 1996 Olympics in which he was 41st in 2:19. (And yes it is common for 2:10 runners to run 2:19 in the Olympics)
2:10:50 is quite an impressive time for a starved North Korean, so I am somewhat skeptical.
I'm surprised he beat Kim Jong-Il, I hear he was pretty fast.
The Pyongyang marathon is legit. They fly in international elites. Here is some info: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3657372
The 1999 World Champion was from North Korea.
http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/north-korea-celebrates-marathon-queen
I'm trying to imagine how one is able to take up running in that country. The roads are certainly safe to run on since there is absolutely no traffic.
If he ran 2:11, he knew he would be facing 120 dogs while
hanging from chains one foot off the floor.
That's how they roll.
In Communist countries, if the powers that be think you're talented at something, they will effectively make you do it. Ryan Hall would have been made to run 180 miles a week (and to dope of course) no questions asked had he been North Korean. Some of the late bloomers like Brian Sell, on the other hand, would not have even been given a chance. In the Soviet Union, Deena Kastor would not have been given a chance either because they would have said "Jewish = unathletic, go play chess". (That last one is much more speculative on my part than the other two examples, admittedly.)
fred wrote:
If he ran 2:11, he knew he would be facing 120 dogs while
hanging from chains one foot off the floor.
That's how they roll.
Actually the time only counts if all 120 dogs were registered participants.
In case you haven't noticed, Communist countries place a large emphasis on sports.
Read up a bit on international history, you may learn something yet.
Communist countries also place a high emphasis on steroids!
You have to eat to make steroids work.
North Korea had a very solid women's marathon team at the World Champs last summer in Moscow. In fact they would have won team gold if they still awarded team medals (a few Kenyans DNF'd)
http://cloud259.com/2013/08/13/team-usa-marathon-women-the-silver-medal-that-wasnt/
This link to the Kosice marathon results shows how good the men were in the 70's. This is one of the oldest marathons in the world, and just look at the Germans behind the North Koreans in 1977.
Happy 2014 wrote:
The Pyongyang marathon is legit. They fly in international elites. Here is some info:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3657372
Makes me wonder where Jason/666Energy has been lately. Dude used to run these boards day and night!
new pair of shoes wrote:
Makes me wonder where Jason/666Energy has been lately. Dude used to run these boards day and night!
Jason was the best poster on this site. From the training advice, to the funny stories and posts about world travel, he was easily the most interesting poster on LR. Where/why did he leave?
In Soviet Russia marathon run you!
TLW wrote:
new pair of shoes wrote:Makes me wonder where Jason/666Energy has been lately. Dude used to run these boards day and night!
Jason was the best poster on this site. From the training advice, to the funny stories and posts about world travel, he was easily the most interesting poster on LR. Where/why did he leave?
Back when Jason used to post all the time he was still improving and to him the sky was the limit. He got old.