Skip to main content

Special Session to Decide Tomorrow Whether Erupe Will Become South Korea's First Black Marathoner

http://japanese.donga.com/List/3/all/27/531014/1
http://english.donga.com/List/3/06/26/528066/1

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The symbol of yin and yang upon his chest, a black man may become the first of his kind to represent South Korea in the marathon.  On April 6 the Korean Sports Council (KSC) will hold a session to deliberate on a special recommendation of naturalization for Kenyan-born marathoner Wilson Loyanae Erupe (28, Cheongyang).  Erupe also has the Korean name Joo Han Oh, meaning "I will run for Korea."  The KSC previously held a session on Erupe's naturalization on January 7 but, citing a lack of adequate documentation concerning Erupe's prior suspension for performance-enhancing drug use, postponed making a recommendation.  Erupe claimed that, "The positive result was due to medicine I took for malaria, but Athletics Kenya did not accept this and suspended me for two years."

Following the postponement of the recommendation, the Korean Amateur Athletic Federation (KAAF) applied to the KSC for the special recommendation session after gathering further documentation.  The documentation includes records indicating Erupe's admission to a local hospital in Kenya and certification of verification of these records by the Korean General Hospital.  A KAAF spokesperson commented, "In consultation with domestic malaria experts we have confirmed that prescriptions for the drug in question were unavoidable at the time."

Having served a two-year suspension from competition, the outcome of Erupe's special naturalization hearing will hinge upon whether or not there was willful use of prohibited substances.  KAAF development committee director Bok Ju Kim commented, "Generally speaking, if the goal is to take this drug to improve performance, it must be administered three times a week over the course of two weeks.  Erupe tested positive in out-of-competition testing, not during post-race testing.  Additionally, in other cases to date athletes' abilities have rapidly declined after being caught for drug use.  In Erupe's case it is exactly the opposite."  Prior to his positive drug test Erupe ran 2:05:37 at the March, 2012 Seoul International Marathon, the course record at the time.  In March this year he won Seoul again in a PB time of 2:05:13, a new South Korean all-comers' record and the 4th-fastest time in the world to date this year.

Following his Seoul victory Erupe spent time with his sponsor team Cheongyang Namudo before leaving South Korea on Mar. 27 to return to Kenya for training.  His representative in the naturalization process, Baekseok University professor Chang Suk Oh commented, "Erupe's goal is not just to run in the Olympics, but to act as a leader in South Korea and to make contributions to South Korean marathoning.  If his naturalization is confirmed he plans to return to South Korea immediately."

Comments

Metts said…
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/04/07/2016040701678.html

Most-Read This Week

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that  Sis

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

  In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el