Chung Yun-hee ( ko, 정윤희; born 3 January 1983) is a South Korean long-distance runner and

marathon race 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 di ...

specialist. She began competing in the longer

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

events at a comparatively young age and was third in the

Seoul Half Marathon The JoongAng Seoul Marathon is an annual footrace that takes place in Seoul, South Korea, usually in early November. First held in 1999, the race was established as a commemoration of Olympic marathon race which was held as part of the 1988 Seoul ...

in 2001 – her time of 1:17:51 was among the fastest by a junior that year. The following year she made her debut over the full distance at the

Seoul International Marathon The Seoul International Marathon, also known as the ''Dong-A Ilbo Seoul Marathon or Seoul Marathon'' is an annual marathon race that takes place in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of two annual races over the 42.195 km classic distance in the ...

and secured third place with a time of 2:33:22. She earned a spot on the South Korean team for the 2002 Asian Games in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

and ran a career best of 32:46.54 for the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

, finishing in fifth place. At twenty years old she entered the 2003 JoongAng Seoul Marathon and came away with her first win in the event, setting a course record time of 2:30:50 which stood for four years. She won the Chunju-Kunsan International Marathon in April 2004 and earned selection for the national Olympic marathon team. At the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, she finished in 23rd place, the second South Korea past the line after her compatriot Lee Eun-jung. She disappeared from the international

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

scene in 2004 and only re-emerged in 2008. She made her comeback at the

Gyeongju International Marathon The Gyeongju International Marathon is an annual road running event over the marathon distance (42.195 km) which takes place in mid-October in Gyeongju, South Korea. It gained IAAF Silver Label Road Race status in 2010. First held in 1993, t ...

in October 2008 and was runner-up behind her national rival Yun Sun-suk. Continuing her focus on the marathon she ran at the Seoul International Marathon and finished in sixth place. A return to Gyeongju in 2010 marked her re-establishment among the elite as she ran her second fastest ever time (2:32:09) to win her first marathon in six years, finishing some sixteen minutes ahead of the field. In March 2011 she was the first Korean home at the Seoul International Marathon, taking third place in a time of 2:32:25. Chung represented her country on home turf at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

held in Daegu and placed 35th in the women's marathon race. At the 2012 Seoul International Marathon she was eighth and the second Korean finisher. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics and finished in 41st place in a time of 2:31:58.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Yun-hee Living people 1983 births South Korean female long-distance runners South Korean female marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for South Korea Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for South Korea