New domestic record set at 2016 Seoul International Marathon

New domestic record set at 2016 Seoul International Marathon. March. 21, 2016 07:14. by 이승건기자 why@donga.com. Wilson Loyanae Erupe (28, Kenya), who also has Korean name Oh Joo-han meaning "I will run for Korea," opened a new chapter in the history of marathons held in Korea.

At the 2016 Seoul International Marathon and 87th Dong-A Marathon, the only Gold Label race held in Korea in which runners race from Gwanghwamun Square to Jamsil Main Stadium in the capital city on Sunday, Erupe won the title with a time of 2:05:13. Erupe’s record, which cut by as many as 24 seconds his own individual record of 2:05:37, which also was previously the record for domestic marathon events that he set at the same event in 2012, translates into a record for No. 4 runner in the world for this season. Since his first full-course run in a domestic marathon in Kenya in 2011, Erupe has continued to win titles starting with the Dong-A Ilbo Gyeongju International Marathon in October that year, and acquired the champion’s trophy at all of the six marathons in Korea he has participated (three times at Seoul International and three times at Gyeongju International).

Erupe, who continuously remained in the frontrunners’ group from early part of Sunday’s marathon, started racing ahead of rivals after 32 kilometers, and stayed atop throughout the race.

Erupe declared his bid to naturalize as a Korean citizen after the Dong-A Marathon last year, but saw the Korean Olympic Committee suspend his naturalization in its review in January this year. “I am waiting for second review scheduled in April. I want to become a Korean citizen and run at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August,” he said.

Evans Kiplagat Chebet (28, Kenya, a time of 2:05:33), who ranked second on the day, also set a new record for the marathon on the day, which demonstrates anew that the Seoul International Marathon is a ‘breeding ground for new records.” Mike Kipruto Kigen (30, Kenya), who ranked third, recorded a time of 2:06:10 on the day, which translates into a record for the fifth-ranked runner among all the marathon events that have been held in Korea.