Nam Sung-yong (November 23, 1912 – February 20, 2001) was a Korean Olympian who won a bronze medal in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a 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 wheelchair div ...

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 ...

, completing the run in 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 42 seconds. He was born in Junten (Suncheon),

Japanese Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offici ...

and received higher education in Japan. Like the gold medalist

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 ...

, Nam Sung-yong used the Japanese pronunciation of his name, Nan Shōryū as Korea was then a part of the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

. After the Olympics, Nam Sung-yong worked at the Korean Sporting Association with Sohn Kee-chung.

References

1912 births 2001 deaths People from Suncheon Korean male long-distance runners South Korean male long-distance runners Korean male marathon runners South Korean male marathon runners Japanese male long-distance runners Japanese male marathon runners Olympic athletes of Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from South Jeolla Province {{SouthKorea-athletics-bio-stub