North Korea's Ham wins
women's marathon gold
Ken Ferris
Ham Pong-sil won the women's marathon to pick up North Korea's first athletics medal at the Asian Games to the delight of her nation's official cheerleaders on Sunday.
Ham, who was given a rousing reception by the North Korean supporters and their brass band bunched at one end of Busan's main stadium, won in two hours 33 minutes and 35 seconds after shaking off Japan's Hiromi Ominami, who finished third behind compatriot Harumi Hiroyama.
"Before I came here I met great leader Kim Jong-il and he told me to bring home the gold medal," said Ham. "When it started getting tough at 35 kilometres I remembered what he said and it gave me extra strength to finish strong.
"My team mates wrote a message in blood on my wrist, which said 'Victory'. During the race that gave me a lift too."
Ham raised both arms as she crossed the finish line and was immediately surrounded by photographers and members of her coaching staff as she collected the North Korean flag and headed towards her supporters.
Ham and Ominami had jostled for position and swapped the lead after breaking away from the pack early in the race. Ominami was in front for much of the first two hours but Ham was always breathing down her neck and made the break just after the two-hour mark.
Ominami, who clinched a place in Japan's Games team by finishing second in the 2002 Nagoya marathon, did not last the pace in the final half-an-hour and took bronze in 2:37.48 behind compatriot Hiroyama who won silver in 2:34.44.
Hiroyama, who was third after the first 25 kilometres and made up ground over the final stretch of the race, had come fourth in the 10,000 metres at the world championships in Seville in 1999 before making a successful transition to the marathon.
BIGGEST THREAT
"The Japanese runners were the biggest threat. I stayed with them because I wanted to analyse their strategy and then finish strongly after 35 kilometres. Around the 40-kilometre mark the course got very hilly and that was the toughest part," said Ham.
"I haven't had North Korean food for a long time and I had digestive problems but I just wanted to dig in and finish strong."
The Games record of 2:21.47, set by Japan's Naoko Takahashi in Bangkok four years ago, was never in danger but the gold was all that mattered for Ham, who won the 5,000 and 10,000 metres double at the Asian championships in Colombo in August.
Ham and team mate Kim Chang-ok, who finished fifth, had arrived in Pusan on October 8 separately from the other Korean athletes after a one-month training camp in the country's northern-most Mount Paektu.
They then trained in Tongbaek Island in the western part of Pusan, which was off-limits to journalist and under heavy security.
North Korea's women runners have made an impact on the marathon since Jong Song-ok won the world title at Seville in Spain in 1999. Jong, known as "the People's Sportswoman", did not compete in Busan.
"All the North Korean marathon runners want to win gold at the Asian Games, the world championships and the Olympics. I'm no exception. I promise I will work harder to give Kim Jong-il a gold medal from Athens (the 2004 Olympics)."
Asked about the men's marathon on Monday, Ham said: "North Korea won gold today so for the sake of Korean unification I hope South Korea win the men's marathon tomorrow."
After Ham's victory the North Koreans sang "we are..." and the South Koreans responded with "...one".
It is a chant that has been heard throughout the Asian Games, which have seen North Korea participating in a big international sporting event in the South for the first time.
South Korea's Lee Bong-ju, who holds the national record of 2:07.20, will be aiming to win his country's fourth consecutive men's marathon gold at the Games. He won the 2001 Boston marathon and took the silver at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
