Sprinter Breaks 31-year 100-meter Record

A sprinter has broken the domestic record for the men`s 100-meter dash, a mark which had lasted for 31 years.

Kim Guk-young, 19, had a time of 10.31 seconds, breaking the previous mark by 0.03 seconds held in 1979 by Seo Mal-gu (10.34), a former coach of the national athletic team, at the preliminary run at the National Athletic Championships at Daegu Stadium Monday.

Kim crossed the finish line in the semifinal heat in 10.23 seconds again to improve his personal best by 0.08 seconds and bring the national mark to under 10.2 seconds.

Breaking Seo`s record has long eluded sprinters in Korea. He set the mark 31 years ago at the Summer Universiade in Mexico City. Jang Jae-geun, the technical chairman for track competitions at the Korea Association of Athletics Federations, almost broke Seo`s time with 10.35 seconds in 1985, but no others had come close since.

Other Korean sprinter hopefuls set a flurry of records Monday. Lim Hee-nam, 26, won in men’s 100-meter final with a time of 10.34 seconds, followed by Yeo Hosua with 10.37 seconds, and Kim Guk-young with 10.43 seconds. Lim ran in 10.32 seconds and Yeo 10.33 seconds in the semifinals, with both breaking the 10.34-second mark.

hanwshin@donga.com