Pak Bong-sik

Pak Bong-sik
Personal information
NationalitySouth Korean
Died1951
Sport
SportAthletics
EventDiscus throw

Pak Bong-sik (died 1951) was a South Korean athlete. She competed in the women's discus throw at the 1948 Summer Olympics.[1] She was the first woman to represent South Korea at the Olympics.[2]

Career

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Pak Bong-sik played various sports including basketball before focusing on athletics and discus throw. She studied in Korea and in China, where she was taught a physical education different from the education in her country.[3] She beat the world record in a domestic contest in Korea in 1948[4][5] (not recognized by IAAF),[6] she competed in the women's discus throw at the 1948 Summer Olympics, finishing 18th out of 22.[4][7]

She was the first woman to represent South Korea at the Olympics;[5][8] she said to Dong-a Ilbo on June 20, 1948 :

I feel a little sad because I'm the only woman. For the future, I request that more Korean women participate in such competitions.[9]

She beat the national record in 1949 with a jump at 39.65 m.[4] In June 1950, she suffers from an acute appendicitis but delays her operation in order to participate in the national championship where she makes a throw at 39.57 m.[4] She died of meningitis in 1951, in the middle of the Korean War.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Pak Bong-sik Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  2. ^ "First female competitors at the Olympics by country". Olympedia. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  3. ^ Lee Sang-jeong. "Her Story - 국가대표 투포환 선수 박봉식과 중고등학교 친구들". sportskok.com (in Korean). Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Kim Kyung-ho (25 July 2019). "보석처럼 반짝이다 너무 일찍 스러진 한국 최초의 '여성 올림피언' 박봉식". Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b Junho Cho, Ha et Woong Yong (2020). "박봉식(朴鳳植)의 1948년 런던올림픽 참가사 - History of Park Bong Sik on London Olympics in 1948". 한국체육사학회지 (in Korean and English). Vol. 25, no. 3. pp. 77–94.
  6. ^ "IAAF World Athletics Championships - Doha 2019 - Statistics Handbook" (pdf). pp. 743–744. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  7. ^ "신명철의 스포츠 뒤집기 - 첫 출전 꼴찌에서 이상화의 2연속 금메달까지". news.tf.co.kr (in Korean). 12 April 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  8. ^ "First Female Competitors at the Olympics by Country". olympedia.org. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  9. ^ Lee Jeong-yeon (8 August 2021). "박봉식 그리고 김연경". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  10. ^ Kwon Jong-oh (27 June 2012). "단독 - 18세 '원반 소녀'…1948년 태극전사". news.sbs.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 5 February 2022.
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