   sohn kee-chung (; august 29, 1914 &ndash; november 15, 2002) became the first medal-winning korean olympian, when he won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1936 berlin olympics as a member of the japanese delegation. he competed under the japanese name son kitei, as korea was part of the japanese empire at the time. the name is based on the japanese kanji pronunciation of his korean name. ==early life== sohn kee-chung was born in sinÅ­iju, north p'yÅngan province, japanese korea (present-day north korea). he studied at yangjeong high school (ìì ê³ ë±íêµ) in seoul and meiji university in tokyo, where he graduated in 1940. ==athletics career== between 1933 and 1936, he ran 13 marathons and won 10 of them. on november 3, 1935
1914_births 2002_deaths Athletes_(track_and_field)_at_the_1936_Summer_Olympics Former_world_record_holders_in_athletics_(track_and_field) Japanese_marathon_runners Korea_University_alumni Korea_under_Japanese_rule Olympic_athletes_of_Japan Olympic_gold_medalists_for_Japan Olympic_medalists_in_athletics_(track_and_field) People_from_Sinuiju Recipients_of_the_Order_of_Civil_Merit_(South_Korea)