Ex-Boston Marathon champion Suh Yun-bok passes away

SEOUL, June 27 (Yonhap) -- Sun Yun-bok, who won the 1947 Boston Marathon with a world record time, died on Tuesday. He was 94 years old.

The Korea Association of Athletics Federations (KAAF) said Suh passed away at around 4:40 a.m. but the cause of his death wasn't immediately known.

Suh became the first Asian champion of the Boston Marathon in 1947, setting the then-world record with 2:25.39. It was also the first world record set at the Boston Marathon, which began in 1897.

Suh also participated in the 1948 London Olympics, and retired the following year. He spent the next four decades as a sports administrator in South Korea, serving as an executive director and then vice president for the KAAF, and also as vice chairman for the Korean Olympic Committee.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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