Lee Bong-Ju wins Boston Marathon

Lee Bong-Ju, called ``Bongdari,`` won Monday`s 105th Boston Marathon, the world`s oldest event of the distance race -- the first time for a Korean after 51 years.

The 30-year-old marathoner of Samsung Electronics, snapping a 10-year winning streak of Kenyans, finished first in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 43 seconds -- 24 seconds ahead of Silvio Guerra of Ecuador. Lee`s victory came 51 years after Korean marathoners Ham Kee-Yong, Song Kil-Yun and Choi Yun-Chil swept the first three places in the 1950 race. In 1947, Suh Yun-Bok won the race, the oldest in modern Marathons in the world, and in 1994, Hwang Young-Jo, gold medalist in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, took fourth place in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 9 seconds.

Lee took a humiliating 24th place in 2 hours, 17 minutes, 57 seconds in the Sydney Olympics in September last year after he fell down during the race. However, he overcame the slump to finish second in the Fukuoka Marathon at the end of last year and won the Boston Marathon this time, proving he is the world`s top runner both in name and reality.

Yang Jong-Koo yjongk@donga.com