Sohn Kee-chung, South Korean runner (d. 2002)

Sohn Kee-chung (Korean: 손기정, Sohn Kee-chung; Korean pronunciation: [son.kidʑʌŋ]; 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 Olympics. He was a Korean national, but he had to compete as a member of the Japanese delegation because Korea was under Japanese colonization at the time. Sohn set an Olympic record of 2 hours 29 minutes 19.2 seconds.Sohn competed under the Japanese name Kitei Son, as Korea was under the colonial rule of the Japanese Empire during his career.