| Kim Hye-gyong | |||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 9 March 1993 | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Sariwon, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea | ||||||||||
| Height: | 153 cm | ||||||||||
| Sport: | Athletics | ||||||||||
| Event: | Marathon | ||||||||||
| Team: | Pyongyang Sports Team | ||||||||||
| Coach: | Jong Myong-chol | ||||||||||
| Highestranking: | 8th (marathon, 2013) | ||||||||||
| Pb: | Marathon: 2:28:32 | ||||||||||
| Updated: | 5 September 2015 | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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Kim Hye-gyong (; pronounced as /ko/ or pronounced as /ko/ pronounced as /ko/; born 9 March 1993) is a North Korean long-distance runner.[1]
Marathoner Kim Hye-song is her sister. They are fraternal twins. Hye-gyong is the younger. Their mutual coach, Jong Myong-chol, describes their healthy rivalry in races and friendship as the key to their success. According to Jong, Hye-gyong has a livelier personality of the twins and trains harder. Together they train five times a week, running 25km–30kmkm (16miles–20mileskm) a day.
The sisters Kim, along with Kim Mi-gyong (no relation) are considered the most prominent of North Korean female marathoners today. Kim Hye-gyong represents the Pyongyang Sports Team.[2] She has a brother, a marathoner representing the April 25 Sports Team.
Kim is from Sariwon, North Hwanghae Province. Already physically active in kindergarten, she and her sister started running in middle-school at the age of 14. They were proven good runners and Kim won many competitions.[3] Kim's ability to maintain high speed and good composure in particular made her stand out. The sisters' father was a marathon coach at that time.[4] Kim trained at Kumchon County Juvenile Sports School.[5] The sisters then moved to the capital Pyongyang.[3] Kim subsequently won events such as 5,000 m, 10,000 m and 30 km in domestic tournaments like the 2009 Jonsung Cup and the 2011 national championships.[5] [4]
After having won the half marathon at the 2010 Pyongyang Marathon, she was selected to represent North Korea as a part of the national team. She went on to win the 2011 half marathon and coming second at the 2012 full marathon in Pyongyang, too. These results earned North Korea a berth to the 2012 London Olympics.[4] However, Kim was not among those who raced there.[6]
Kim's standing of 8th at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics brought her fame in her just second ever race abroad.[7]
Kim then took a surprise victory over many East African favorites at the 2015 Hong Kong Marathon serving as that year's Asian Marathon Championship, taking home a $65,000 prize. Sports journalist Pat Butcher considered the victory an important step toward the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, saying: "This is a huge win for North Korea. The last time a woman from North Korea won the world championships was in 1999 in Seville. Maybe this could be Kim's year".[8] Kim started in the women's marathon at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, but did not finish the race.[9]
| 2011 | 2011 Summer Universiade | Shenzhen, China | — | Half marathon | DNF[10] |
| 2012 | Pyongyang Marathon | Pyongyang, North Korea | 2nd[11] | Marathon | 2:31:29 |
| 2013 | Pyongyang Marathon | Pyongyang, North Korea | 2nd | Marathon | 2:28:32 |
| 2013 World Championships in Athletics | Moscow, Russia | 8th | Marathon | 2:35:49 | |
| Great Eastern Women's Run | Singapore | 1st | Half marathon | 1:15:59[12] | |
| 2014 | Pyongyang Marathon | Pyongyang, North Korea | 1st | Marathon | 2:27:05 |
| 2014 Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | 7th | Marathon | 2:36:38[13] | |
| 2015 | 15th Asian Marathon Championship | Hong Kong | 1st | Marathon | 2:31:46 |
| 2015 World Championships in Athletics | Beijing, China | — | Marathon | DNF |