[rio olympics 2016 marathon] Ethiopian Runner Feyisa Lilesa's hand signal
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won the men's Olympic marathon with a dominating performance, running alone into the Sambadrome and finishing in two hours, eight minutes and 44 seconds on Sunday.
Ethiopia's Feyisa Lilesa claimed the silver medal and American Galen Rupp took the bronze in humid conditions on a rain-slicked course.
[rio olympics 2016 marathon] Ethiopian Runner Feyisa Lilesa's hand signal
Was this the bravest act of the Rio Olympics?
When Ethiopia's Feyisa Lilesa raised his hands at the marathon finish line in Rio on Sunday.
Feyisa Lilesa crossed his wrists high above his head as a sign of protest against the killings and arrests that have been carried out by Ethiopia's government.
[rio olympics 2016 marathon] Ethiopian Runner Feyisa Lilesa's hand signal
What did Ethiopian runner's hand signal mean?
The signal was in gesture of support for members of his Oromo tribe who have been protesting at government plans to reallocate farmland.
In early August, protesters chanted slogans during a demonstration over what they say is unfair distribution of wealth in the country at Meskel Square in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. The Oromo people are the country's largest ethnic group.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Ethiopian government has killed an estimated 400 people, and injured thousands more since November 2015 for participating in protests in the Oromo region.
The government disputes the figures and says illegal protests by 'anti-peace forces' have been brought under control.
[rio olympics 2016 marathon] Ethiopian Runner Feyisa Lilesa's hand signal
'Maybe They Will Kill Me'
He claimed his life could be in peril after making the sign. "If I go back to Ethiopia maybe they will kill me... Maybe I move to another country." Lilesa said.
"Oromo people now protest what is right, for peace, for a place." Feyisa Lilesa explained after his hand signal, adding that he feared he would face consequences for the gesture when he returned home.
In my opinion, his action was dangerous and brave. But In this way, Ethiopia's situation was known to the whole world. He risked his own life to raised his hands. I admire his belief in what he is doing. He definitely needs someone to help him.
In my opinion, his action was dangerous and brave. But In this way, Ethiopia's situation was known to the whole world. He risked his own life to raised his hands. I admire his belief in what he is doing. He definitely needs someone to help him.
I hope Ethiopian Runner Feyisa Lilesa's efforts for rights and peace of Ethiopia will bear fruit as soon as possible.
1936 Berlin Olympics Marathon Gold medalist, Son Ki-jung
I am reminded, in reading the news about Ethiopian Runner Feyisa Lilesa, Korean Marathoner Son Ki-jung.
Marathoner Son Ki-jung won a gold medal at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. He was the first South Korean to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
But he was forced to compete for Japan, to adopt the Japanese name Kitei Son and to stand on the medal podium while the Japanese flag was raised and the Japanese anthem was played.
Son Ki-jung refused to sign his Japanese name, continuing to sign his Korean name instead. Son drew a picture of the Korean peninsula or the Korean flag next to his signature.
During the Japanese anthem, two Korean runners, Son Ki-jung, gold medalist, and Nam Sung-yong, bronze medalist bowed their heads and both man are staring at their feet in, what they later called, "silent shame and outrage". Son Ki-jung clutched a young oak tree to his chest.
One newspaper, Dong-a Ilbo, went so far as to alter a photograph of Son on the medal podium, blotting out the Japanese flag on his sweatshirt. According to Wallechinsky’s “Complete Book of the Olympics,” eight people affiliated with the paper were jailed and publication was halted for nine months.
Later, Son Ki-jung became a heroic symbol of nationalism and patriotism in South Korea. When it competed for the first time as an independent nation at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Son carried the South Korean flag in the opening ceremony.
At the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, which symbolized South Korea’s move from authoritarian rule to democracy, he carried the torch into the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony.
South Korea also sacrificed a lot of people for the freedom and human rights, and democracy for a long time.
In 1980, public opposition to martial law led student activists in Gwangju to carry out a string of demonstrations which triggered a clash with the military forces deployed by the authoritarian Chun Doo-hwan regime.
This pro-democracy movement took root, making Gwangju the symbolic center for civic action, and now May 18th is widely remembered as the day that gave birth to democracy in a struggling nation.
A Simple Request from Our North Korean Friends
We should try continue together to change and improve the situation of a global world as well as our country.
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