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2023. May VOL. 662
- 2023. May VOL. 662
- ENG
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2023. May VOL. 662
Often dubbed ‘the flower of track and field events’, marathon requires stamina, tenacity and mental strength. People may find it difficult to get involved in a marathon that requires a long time-span commitment. However, marathons started to catch on in South Korea after marathoners Yeongjo Hwang and Bongju Lee won gold and silver medals, respectively at the Olympics.
K-water’s passion for marathons lead to the launch of its own team. A large number of Koreans now enjoy running like jogging and running marathons, but back in 1977, marathons were one of the least popular sports in South Korea. K-water has been running its team of marathoners for over 40 years, contributing to the development of sports in South Korea. Led by Coach Yeong-geun Kim, the team consists of major Korean marathoners including Sook-jeong Lee, Dallim Oh, Da-eun Jeong and Jung-yoon Choi, who have won medals at various marathon events at home and abroad.
Not everyone can finish a marathon of 42.195km in distance. The advent of the K-water marathon team as a marathon powerhouse in South Korea has been driven by the hard work of the athletes and the efficient training by Coach Kim. He checks the daily performance records of each individual athlete, and builds training programs tailored for different individual athletes.
“We’re focusing on interval training, speed improvement and endurance training to prepare for the track competition in May. I think it’s my job to help the athletes become Korea’s leading marathoners.”
“During a marathon race, I get to a point where I’m drained of all energy. But I push myself to finish the race instead of giving up, thinking of the people who support and cheer me on,” said team captain Lee. Dallim Oh started to run marathons as she joined the team last year. Oh said, “I competed in a marathon at the National Sports Festival last year, and thought it was fun although it was my first time to participate in an official event. I got fascinated with marathons from then on.”
As a rising star on the team, Da-eun Jeong has been selected to join the national team for the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games. Jeong said, “I was so happy that I won my first championship at the Dong-A Marathon. But I was a little disappointed because the record fell short of my expectations. I want to improve my record in the next event.” She said her goal is to break her own individual record. Jung-yoon Choi used to be a middle-distance runner before she switched to the marathon. Choi said, “I was thinking of giving up on marathoning as an athlete after I struggled with injuries and a mental slump when I ran in the 2021 Dong-A Marathon. My record at the event was better than I expected, which became a turning point for me to start running again.”
With the full support of the Human Resources Management Office at K-water, the team is working hard to get ready for the next marathon in July at Hokkaido, Japan and other upcoming races in the fall. The athletes get drenched in sweat and breathe heavily as they train hard every day to win the race.
