Ham Kee-Yong

Who is Ham Kee-Yong?

Ham Kee-Yong is a former South Korean athlete, best known as the winner of the 1950 Boston Marathon.

On April 19, 1950, he won the Boston Marathon with a record time of 2:32:39, under coach Sohn Kee-chung, the marathon winner at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The second and third place finishers that year, Song Gil-yun and Choe Yunchil were also South Koreans. A South Korean male would not win the Boston Marathon again until 2001.

The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, so a planned victory celebration did not take place that year. On April 18, 2004, his feat was finally celebrated in his hometown, with Ham in attendance.