Boston marathon winner recalls glorious days
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Ham Kee-yong
By Nam Hyun-woo
Former marathon runner Ham Kee-yong, 85, best known for winning the 1950 Boston Marathon, is recalling his success as he participates in a Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) project archiving the history of Korean sports.
April 19, 1950, was a glorious day for Koreans. Ham, then 18 years old, finished in 2:32:39, coming in first in the event with his compatriots Song Gil-yun and Choe Yun-chil following him onto the podium.
“I was the first Korean to win an international competition with the Korean national flag printed on my bib,” Ham said.
Coached by marathon great Sohn Kee-chung, winner of 1936 Berlin Olympic marathon, the Korean victory not only surprised the world but helped the country, which had gained independence from Japanese colonial rule only five years beforehand, to regain its pride.
On returning home, President Rhee Syng-man held a parade to celebrate their victory.
“Rhee shed tears saying we (Ham, Song and Choe) did a greater job than hundreds of diplomats could do,” he recalled.
But their celebration did not last long as the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, forcing other scheduled celebrations to be cancelled. As the North Korean invasion spread across Seoul, Ham also had to evacuate the capital after leaving his Boston Marathon bib at the now defunct Dongdaemun Sports Complex. After the war finished with a truce, but not a peace treaty, Ham came back to Seoul, but couldn't find the bib.
It took 54 years to properly acknowledge his feat in Boston, but a celebration event finally took place in his hometown in Gangwon Province.
Ham became a marathon great during a golden age for Korean athletics. Three years before Ham's win, Suh Yun-bok became the first Korean winner at the Boston Marathon, setting the world record of 2:25:39. It then took another 51 years for the country's national anthem to be played at the Boston event, when Lee Bong-ju won the 2001 race with a time of 2:09:42.
Ham, at age 18, also joined the Korean delegation to the 1948 Olympics in London as its youngest member. It was Korea's debut at the Olympic stage as an independent nation.
For the event, Korea sent 51 athletes and 19 staffers competing in seven sports. Their journey to London was harsh ― some 18 days of transport using planes, trains and boats via Hong Kong, Bangkok, Cairo, Mumbai and Amsterdam ― but they still managed to bag two bronzes, one in weightlifting and another in boxing.
“It was a tiring journey,” Ham recalled. “We barely trained on the ship’s deck, so we were completely drained.”
Starting earlier this month, the KOC has began recording oral statements from 25 sporting greats, including Ham, which will be published in a commemorative book.
“The project will index Korean sporting greats and their experiences, helping the country's sporting history to be preserved,” said an official at the KOC.