Sports briefs

Football

Ji So-yun scores lone goal in friendly match

A late goal by Ji So-yun led the Korea women’s football team to a 1-0 victory against Russia in a friendly held Sunday in Incheon.

Ji, who plays for Chelsea Ladies FC in England, came to the pitch in the 73rd minute as a substitute and scored the lone goal in extra time during the second half. This was her 37th goal in her 73rd international match.

Besides international cup competition, Sunday’s match was the first international friendly held on home soil since October 1998. With the victory, Korea’s head-to-head record against Russia is now level at three wins, one draw and three losses.

The women’s team, led by Coach Yoon Duk-yeo, will compete in another friendly with Russia on Wednesday in Daejeon.

Running

Ethiopan wins the Daegu Int’l Marathon

Ethiopia’s Girmay Birhanu won the Daegu International Marathon on Sunday, while his compatriot Meselech Melkamu finished first in the women’s division, extending the dominance held by Ethiopian runners.

Last year, Ethiopian duo Yemane Tsegay and Mulu Seboka won both races, with Tsegay setting a course record of two hours, six minutes and 51 seconds.

In the event held in Daegu, the 2011 host city of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships, Birhanu clocked 2:07:26 to win the men’s race, beating Kenyan runners Stephen Kwelio Chemlany, with a time of 2:08:22, and Mutai Ben Kiplimo, who finished at 2:08:45.

Korea’s Son Myeong-jun finished 2:14:46 to place fifth, the best among the Korean runners.

In the women’s, Melkamu was first to cross the finish line at 2:27:24, beating compatriot Dinknesh Mekash Tefera, who clocked in at 2:29:44.

The Daegu International Marathon is the only local marathon event to earn a Silver Label from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for three consecutive years. This year, 133 top athletes and 14,552 citizens participated.

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