'20s Female Runner Dies' KAIST Graduate Student and Running Influencer Passes Away... Hwang Young-jo Also Emphasizes Marathon Safety: "Running Fast Is Not the Same as Running Well"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

A woman in her 20s who participated in a marathon held in downtown Seoul collapsed and died just 500 meters before the finish line. Amid this, Hwang Young-jo, the gold medalist in the marathon at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, voiced concerns regarding excessive competition for records and insufficient preparation.

On the 13th, Hwang uploaded a video titled "Why Do Marathon Race Deaths Occur?" to his YouTube channel, sharing his thoughts on running safety issues.

Hwang stated, "People run to live long and healthy lives, yet running for health is turning into running that leads to death," emphasizing, "When exercising, one must first be aware of their own physical condition."

Previously, according to the Seoul Race Organizing Committee, Yoo Ji-won collapsed and lost consciousness suddenly at the 20.6 km mark while participating in the half marathon course of the "2026 Seoul Race" around 8:49 a.m. on the 11th.

This was a point approximately 500 meters before the finish line, out of the total half marathon distance of 21.0975 km.

Immediately after emergency measures by on-site medical staff, Yoo was urgently transported to a nearby hospital via an 119 ambulance and received treatment, but ultimately passed away. The exact cause of death has not yet been determined.

The Organizing Committee stated through its official channels, "We sincerely pray for the repose of the deceased and express our deepest condolences to the bereaved family facing sudden sorrow and to all participants who must be feeling heavy-hearted," adding, "We will carefully examine this incident and proceed with necessary follow-up measures without fail."

Approximately 12,000 people participated in courses including the half marathon and an 11 km course for this event, which started from Seoul Plaza and traversed downtown Seoul through Gwanghwamun and Heunginjeongmun.

Yoo was an engineering student who had been conducting research related to artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors at the KAIST graduate school. She had also been actively working as a running influencer, sharing her daily life of balancing research activities with running.

After starting to run in 2022, she steadily improved her skills and was recognized for her ability among amateur runners, including winning the women's masters division in the 10th km race at the Gunsan Saemangeum Marathon held last April.

As news of the sudden passing spread, condolence messages have been pouring in on the late person's social media and interview videos from when she was alive.

Amid this, Hwang Young-jo offered advice regarding marathon safety. He cited participating in races without sufficient training or running excessively due to a desire for records as factors that can increase the risk of accidents.

He continued, "Ordinary people often do not get enough sleep and suffer from work stress. On top of this, they may participate in races while their training is not properly done," stating, "That is when it leads to an accident."

Above all, he emphasized that one must know how to decisively stop running if one feels something is wrong with their body.

Hwang advised, "A person who knows how to give up is a good runner," adding, "Knowing when to stop means knowing oneself to that extent."

He further explained, "If preparation is lacking, one should decisively shorten the course or participate with the mindset of practicing without being obsessed with records," and "One should challenge the half marathon after going through sufficient distance training and pace training, and then gradually challenge the full course afterwards."

He also expressed concern about the culture of record competition spreading primarily through social media.

Hwang said, "These days, people who run post their daily running on social media and boast about how many kilometers they ran in how many minutes at which race," adding, "It is good to work hard because you have a goal, but there are cases where people run excessively for records rather than for health."

He continued, "There are also many people who boast about completing the full course within a few months after participating despite having started running not long ago," warning, "Problems can arise when one is greedy for records and runs excessively."

He pointed out that safety management by race organizers is also important. He stated, "There are well-prepared races, but there are also many races with insufficient preparation," noting, "Immediate action must be taken when problems occur, but there are cases where this does not happen."

Hwang emphasized that a 'Fun Run' culture, which pursues the joy of running itself over records, should become established.

He said, "Running fast is not the same as running well," adding, "The culture must change to one where people enjoy the atmosphere of the race and run comfortably while mingling with others."

He continued, "Even if the body is ready, if the mind is not prepared, do not exercise; even if you want to run, if the body is not prepared, do not run," urging that running according to one's physical condition is most important.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original