Person1912 – 2002

Sohn Kee-chung

Also called: Son Kitei, Son Ki-jeong

Korean marathon runner under Japanese rule who won the 1936 Berlin Olympic marathon for Japan but bowed his head on the podium; the photograph led to the Japanese flag erasure incident

Born in Sinuiju, North Pyongan, he learned to run at Yangjeong High School. He set an unofficial world record for the marathon in 1935 and won the 1936 Berlin Olympic marathon in an Olympic record of 2:29:19.2. But he had to run for Japan with the Japanese flag on his chest; he bowed his head on the podium and signed his name in Korean script. The erasure of the flag from his photograph led to the Japanese flag erasure incident. After liberation he coached Suh Yun-bok to victory in the 1947 Boston Marathon, and at the opening of the 1988 Seoul Olympics he carried the torch into the main stadium.

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3 related events

1
19361936 Berlin Olympicsparticipant
Games that Nazi Germany turned into a showcase for its regime. The first torch relay was held. The American Jesse Owens won four gold medals, and Sohn Kee-chung won the marathon for Japan.
2
1936Japanese Flag Erasure Incidentrelated figure
Printing photographs of Sohn Kee-chung, winner of the Berlin Olympic marathon, the Dong-a Ilbo and the Joseon Jungang Ilbo erased the Japanese flag from his chest. The Government-General suspended the Dong-a Ilbo indefinitely and arrested its journalists.
3
19921992 Barcelona Olympicsrelated figure
The first Games after the Cold War held without a boycott, with a unified Germany and a Unified Team of former Soviet republics. Hwang Young-cho won the marathon, the first Korean Olympic marathon victory since Sohn Kee-chung 56 years before.

People who appear alongside

Adolf Hitler1889 – 1945
Nazi leader and Führer of Germany (1934–1945) who started the Second World War and perpetrated the Holocaust; he killed himself as Berlin fell
Jesse Owens1913 – 1980
American sprinter and long jumper who won four gold medals (100 m, 200 m, long jump and 4 × 100 m relay) at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, an African American whose victories became a symbol against Nazi racism
Yeo Un-hyeong1886 – 1947
Founded the New Korea Youth Party in Shanghai and in 1944 the underground Korean Founding League at home
Hwang Young-cho1970
South Korean marathon runner who won the marathon at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the first Korean Olympic marathon champion since Sohn Kee-chung 56 years earlier

Themes this person appears in

Summer Olympics776 BC – 2024
From the ancient festival at Olympia to Paris 2024 — how the modern Games revived by Coubertin came through wars, boycotts and division