Participate in the Samcheok Hwang Young-jo International Marathon Competition
“I’m not fully recovered, but…”
An impressive 150m athlete who ran with Hwang Young-jo
▲ Lee Bong-ju, who took part in the ‘2024 Samcheok Hwang Young-jo International Marathon’. YouTube ‘Kangwon Ilbo TV’ ▲ Lee Bong-ju runs past the starting line in the ‘Lee Bong-ju Recovery Prayer Marathon’ held at Bucheon Sports Complex in Bucheon. 2021.11.28. Yonhap News national marathon runner Lee Bong-ju (54), who was bent and broken due to an incurable disease, ran again.
Lee Bong-ju, who was diagnosed with ‘dystonia’ after suffering from unexplained pain in 2020, took part in the ’28th Samcheok Hwang Young-jo International Marathon’ on the 21st and ran 150m. Seeing Lee Bong-ju stand on the starting line for the first time in four years was as moving as running the full marathon course of 42.195km.
Lee Bong-ju, who had difficulty moving around due to a disease that causes muscles to stiffen or twist the body against will, causing the back to bend and the neck to bend to 90 degrees, underwent surgery to pull over a spinal arachnoid cyst. six hours in 2021, and continued to work on rehabilitation.
Lee Bong-ju said, “My body has improved a lot, but I have not fully recovered. “My biggest goal is to work hard and build a body that can run 5km, 10km, and more,” he said, expressing his determination. Competition participants cheered for him by shouting, “Going Lee Bong-ju!”, and colleagues, including Korea Sports Promotion Organization coach Hwang Young-jo and Samcheok City Hall coach Kim Wan-ki, took part in a short race with Lee too. Bong-ju.
Lee Bong-ju won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, gold medals at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games and the 2002 Busan Asian Games, and won the Boston Marathon in 2001, earning the love of many as the ‘national marathoner’. He received the Blue Dragon Medal, the highest rank among sports medals, in 2009, and after retirement, served as an executive officer of the Korea Athletics Federation.
Lee Bong-ju’s record of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 20 seconds has not been broken for 23 years. The Korea Sports Council highly evaluated his history and the fact that he gave the people dreams and hopes, and chose him as the ‘Sports Hero of the Republic of Korea’ in 2022. ▲ ‘Bongdal’ Lee Bong-ju will take part in the 90th National Sports Festival as representative of Chungcheongnam-do. The photo on the left shows Lee Bong-ju competing as Seoul’s representative in the 72nd National Sports Festival held in Jeonju in October 1991 and taking first place for the first time in his life. random news
Correspondent Kim Yu-min
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