Hwang Young-cho (born 22 March 1970) is a former

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

, winner of the

marathon race The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road running, road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also w ...

at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

and

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games ( ja, 1994年アジア競技大会, ''Senkyūhyakukyūjūyon-nen Ajia kyōgi taikai''), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games ( ja, 第12回アジア競技大会, Daijūni-kai Ajia kyōgi taikai), were held from ...

Career

Born in

Samcheok Samcheok () is a city in Gangwon-do, South Korea. History Ancient age & Three Kingdom * It was called "Siljikguk or Siljikgokguk" * 102 under the rule of Silla ( Pasa 23rd) * 468 under the rule of Goguryeo (Jangsu 56th) * 505 The name changed t ...

, South Korea, Hwang was a promising track athlete in his junior years, but after his first marathon in 1991, which he won, decided to specialize in marathon. The

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Olympic marathon was only fourth of his career. He had won two and placed second in his three previous marathon competitions. In Barcelona, Hwang was in the leading pack from the start, but in a slowly run race, this group still numbered thirty runners at the halfway mark. However, runners gradually lost contact with the leaders in the second half of the race, until at 35 km, only Hwang and

Kōichi Morishita is a retired Japanese male long-distance runner. He competed for Japan at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain where he won the silver medal in the men's marathon event. Beyond his Olympic medal, his achievements include wins at the B ...

from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

remained. They had quite a memorable struggle, until Hwang broke free after 40 km to win a gold medal. Hwang raced sparingly after Barcelona, and he retired after injury prevented him from representing South Korea in the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Olympics. Hwang was depicted on the 2006

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inclu ...

medal to commemorate his victory in the 1992 Olympic marathon event.

South Koreans' Olympic marathon medals

Hwang has been one of two Korean athletes to win the Olympic marathon. The other winner was

Sohn Kee-chung Sohn Kee-chung ( ko, 손기정, ; ; August 29, 1912 – November 15, 2002) was an Olympic athlete and long-distance runner. He became the first ethnic Korean to win a medal at the Olympic Games, winning gold in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin ...

. Hwang's contemporary South Korean athlete

Lee Bong-Ju Lee Bong-Ju (; born November 8, 1970, in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea) is a South Korean marathoner. He graduated from University of Seoul then competed for South Korea in the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, United States in t ...

won the silver medal in the marathon at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

held in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and

Nam Sung-yong Nam Sung-yong (November 23, 1912 – February 20, 2001) was a Korean Olympian who won a bronze medal in the marathon at the 1936 Summer Olympics, completing the run in 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 42 seconds. He was born in Junten (Suncheon), ...

won the bronze medal at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

in Berlin at the same race that

won.

Achievements

*1991 **

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

, winner of the men's marathon in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. *1992 **

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, winner of the men's marathon in

. *1994 **

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

, winner of the men's marathon in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

. **

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

, fourth place in a new Korean record (2:08:09)

External links

*
databaseOlympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, Young-Cho 1970 births Living people South Korean male marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of South Korea Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Korea University alumni Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea South Korean male long-distance runners Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Pyeonghae Hwang clan Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Asian Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for South Korea People from Samcheok Sportspeople from Gangwon Province, South Korea 20th-century South Korean people

Career

South Koreans' Olympic marathon medals

Achievements

See also

External links