As running records get broken, Koreans sprint to once-impossible benchmark

작성일 07-14

<div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2025/07/14/0000073345_001_20250714070225594.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Beatrice Chebet, of Kenya, crosses the finish line to win the women 5000 meters at the Diamond League Golden Gala Pietro Mennea athletics meet at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Friday, June 6, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Another "unbreakable" record has been broken: At the Diamond League women's 5,000-meter race held in Eugene, Oregon, on July 6, Kenya’s 25-year-old distance running star Beatrice Chebet became the first woman in history to break the 14-minute barrier, clocking in at 13 minutes, 58.06 seconds.  <br>    <br> A sub-14-minute time at that distance requires an average of 16.8 seconds per 100-meter lap. Chebet passed the 3,000-meter mark at 8 minutes, 22.96 seconds &#8212; one second off pace &#8212; but picked up speed in the final 200 meters and crossed the finish line two seconds ahead. She also set a world record in the 10,000 meters last year at the Paris Olympics with a time of 28 minutes 54.14 seconds.  <br><br>On the same day, another Kenyan athlete, Faith Kipyegon, aged 31, set a world record in the women’s 1,500 meters with a time of 3 minutes, 48.68 seconds.  <br>    <br> On June 27, she had taken part in a special event designed for one purpose &#8212; breaking the women’s “4-minute mile” barrier. Thirteen pacemakers were deployed along with cutting-edge gear designed to reduce air resistance, including a suit that separated front air and created tiny whirlwinds behind the runner, moisture-optimized bras and running shoes outfitted with six titanium spikes. Despite the effort, the barrier remained intact. Kipyegon finished in 4 minutes, 6.42 seconds &#8212; an unofficial world record nonetheless.  <br>    <br> In track and field, "unbreakable" records refer to records considered nearly impossible to break &#8212; both physically and psychologically. Famous examples include the 4-minute mile, the 2-hour marathon and the 10-second 100 meters. These are not just physically demanding marks &#8212; they test an athlete’s mental limits as well.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2025/07/14/0000073345_002_20250714070225773.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Beatrice Chebet, of Kenya, celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the women 5000 meters at the Diamond League Golden Gala Pietro Mennea athletics meet at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Friday, June 6, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2025/07/14/0000073345_003_20250714070225842.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Faith Kipyegon, from Kenya, approaches the finish line in her attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes, at Stade Charlety in Paris, Thursday, June 26, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> The concept began with the men’s 4-minute mile. Until British amateur athlete Roger Bannister emerged, that record was seen as untouchable. In 1954, Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes &#8212; 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds &#8212; at Oxford University.  <br>    <br> Afterward, he said, "I knew enough medicine and physiology to know it wasn’t a physical barrier, but I think it had become a psychological barrier.”  <br>    <br> Once that wall was breached, others followed. Within a month, 10 more runners broke the barrier, proving that once a mental block is lifted, records can fall. The current world record for the mile is 3 minutes, 43.13 seconds, set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1999.  <br>    <br> Yun Young-kil, professor of sports psychology at Korea National Sport University, described such barriers as “a form of learned helplessness within a group &#8212; a shared subconscious belief that something cannot be done," which, once broken by a peer, the experience becomes a lever for others.  <br>    <br> “What was once seen as a wall becomes surmountable once enough energy is focused on it. Then, the cycle of facing and overcoming the wall begins again,” Yun said. “However, not all barriers can be broken. Humans are not machines or birds. What we call an unbreakable record lies somewhere between absolute limits and achievable ones.”  <br>    <br> In Korean athletics, the 10-second 100 meters is considered the ultimate benchmark. It was long viewed as physically impossible for Korean athletes due to body composition, but that view is shifting.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2025/07/14/0000073345_004_20250714070225914.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Athlete Joel Jin Nwamadi on May 28 in Gumi, North Gyeongsang [NEWS1]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Nineteen-year-old Joel Jin Nwamadi, for example, set a high school record of 10.3 seconds last year, and Kim Si-on, aged 26, recently clocked 10.2 seconds to win the national championship in Iksan on Sunday &#8212; the fifth-fastest time in Korean history.  <br>    <br> The Korean national record is 10.07 seconds, set by Kim Kuk-young, 34, in 2017. The next four fastest times were posted by Kim Tae-hyo at 10.17, Lee Jun-hyeok at 10.18, Joo Ji-myung at 10.19 and Kim Si-on &#8212; all of whom are active athletes. The late Suh Mal-guh held the record at 10.34 seconds for 31 years before Kim Kuk-young broke it.  <br>    <br> “Considering the capabilities of Korean athletes, breaking into the 9-second range is entirely possible," said Jang Jae-keun, the former director of the Jincheon National Training Center. Jang’s national 200-meter record of 20.41 seconds, set in 1985, stood for 33 years.  <br>    <br> "Japan and China have done it &#8212; there’s no reason we can’t. Rigorous training is essential. Having good coaches, programs and systems is important, but the athlete’s own passion and drive come first," he said.  <br>    <br> The first man to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters was Jim Hines of the United States, who ran 9.95 seconds in 1968. The current world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in 2009.  <br><br><i>Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.</i>

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As running records get broken, Koreans sprint to once-impossible benchmark

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