Suh Yun-bok facts for kids
Suh Yun-bok (born January 9, 1923 – died June 27, 2017) was a famous athlete from South Korea. He is best known for winning the 1947 Boston Marathon, a very important long-distance running race.
Suh won the race with an amazing time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 39 seconds. This was the fastest time ever recorded for a marathon at that point! His coach was Sohn Kee-chung, who was also a Korean marathon winner at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Suh Yun-bok was born in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.
Winning the Boston Marathon
Suh Yun-bok's trip to the Boston Marathon was special. Money for his journey came from donations by soldiers in the United States Forces Korea. His victory was a big moment because it was the first time a new world record for the men's marathon was set at the Boston Marathon. The previous world record was set by his coach, Sohn Kee-chung, in Japan in 1935.
Suh was 166 centimeters tall (about 5 feet 5 inches) and weighed 56 kilograms (about 123 pounds). People said he was the shortest person ever to win the Boston Marathon!
After the Big Win
In 1948, one year after his famous Boston win, Suh Yun-bok competed in the marathon at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. He stopped running professionally in 1949.
Suh Yun-bok passed away on June 27, 2017, in Seoul. He was 94 years old.
