Hwang Yeong-Jo

Hwang Yeong-Jo was a promising track athlete in his junior years but, after his first marathon in 1991, which he won, he decided to specialize in the marathon. The Barcelona Olympic marathon was only the fourth of his career, after winning two and finishing second in the other. In Barcelona Hwang was in the leading pack from the start but, in a slowly run race, this group still numbered 30 runners at the halfway mark. Runners gradually lost contact with the leaders in the second half of the race, however, until, at 35 km, only Hwang and Koichi Morishita from Japan remained. They had a memorable struggle, until Hwang broke free after 40 km to win the gold medal. Hwang raced sparingly after Barcelona and retired after injury prevented him from gaining a place on the 1996 South Korean Olympic team.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-08:09 (1994).