Pak Song-chol (athlete)

In this Korean name, the family name is Pak.

Pak Song-chol (born 10 November 1984) is a North Korean long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon. His personal best time is 2:12:41 hours in 2007, winning the Pyongyang Marathon. He has represented North Korea at the Summer Olympics on two occasions (2008 and 2012) and the 2010 Asian Games. He won a silver medal at the 2009 East Asian Games, running in the half marathon.

Pak Song-chol

Pak Song-chol in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London
Personal information
Born	(1984-11-10) November 10, 1984
Height	1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	60 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Country	North Korea
Sport	Athletics
Event	Marathon
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	박성철
Revised Romanization	Bak Seongcheol
McCune–Reischauer	Pak Sŏngch'ŏl
Medal record Men's Track & Field Representing North Korea East Asian Games 2009 Hong Kong Half marathon

Career

Born in South Hwanghae Province, Pak's first marathon race came at the Pyongyang Marathon in 2005. After racing at the Xiamen and Macau Marathon races in 2006, he dipped under two hours and twenty minutes for the first time in 2007: he won the Pyongyang race in a personal best of 2:12:41 hours and also ran at the Beijing Marathon, timing 2:15:17 hours for eleventh place. He defended his Pyongyang title in 2008 and was selected to compete in the 2008 Olympic marathon, where he placed 40th overall.

Pak managed only sixth at the 2009 Pyongyang Marathon but he was entered into the men's marathon at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and came 43rd with a time of 2:21:12. He won his first international medal at the East Asian Games that year, taking the half marathon silver. He had a strong run at the 2010 Pyongyang race, running 2:14:09 – his fastest time since 2007. However, he had to settle for second place behind surprise winner Ivan Babaryka. He ran at the 2010 Asian Games and was eighth in the marathon. In his sole outing of 2011, he represented North Korea at the 2011 World Military Games, finishing fifth.

The 2012 Pyongyang Marathon was held as part of celebrations for the 100 years since Kim Il Sung's birth and featured one of the race's closest ever finishes: Pak recorded the same time as Oleksandr Matviychuk (2:12:54 hours), but it was the Ukrainian who topped the podium. He was chosen to race at the Olympics for a second time and ended the 2012 Olympic men's marathon in 52nd place. He had his third fastest time of his career in Pyongyang in 2013, but managed only fourth place behind foreign opposition.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
2005	Pyongyang Marathon	Pyongyang, North Korea	18th	Marathon	2:23:36
2006	Xiamen International Marathon	Xiamen, China	16th	Marathon	2:20:40
2007	Pyongyang Marathon	Pyongyang, North Korea	1st	Marathon	2:12:41
2007	Beijing Marathon	Beijing, China	11th	Marathon	2:15:17
2008	Xiamen International Marathon	Xiamen, China	8th	Marathon	2:15:34
2008	Pyongyang Marathon	Pyongyang, North Korea	1st	Marathon	2:14:22
2008	Olympics	Beijing, China	40th	Marathon	2:21:16
2009	Pyongyang Marathon	Pyongyang, North Korea	6th	Marathon	2:15:53
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	43rd	Marathon	2:21:12
2009	East Asian Games	Hong Kong	2nd	Half marathon	1:06:05
2010	Pyongyang Marathon	Pyongyang, North Korea	2nd	Marathon	2:14:09
2010	Asian Games	Guangzhou, China	6th	Marathon	2:18:16
2011	Military World Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	5th	Marathon	2:21:59
2012	Pyongyang Marathon	Pyongyang, North Korea	2nd	Marathon	2:12:54
2012	Olympics	London, United Kingdom	52nd	Marathon	2:20:20
2013	Pyongyang Marathon	Pyongyang, North Korea	4th	Marathon	2:13:24
2014	Pyongyang Marathon	Pyongyang, North Korea	6th	Marathon	2:15:01