Marathon Runner (2000)

• 79%
• 2000
• Li Chju Ho

Jong Song-ok, born 1974, is a is a female long-distance runner from North Korea, who won the world title in the women's marathon at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics in Seville, Spain. She competed at 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, finishing 20th in the women's marathon. In 2000, Jong did not participate in either the Boston Marathon or the Summer Olympics in Sydney; South Korean media claimed this was due to the personal instruction of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. During the 2008 Olympic torch relay in Pyongyang, she was the last person to carry the Olympic torch through the streets.