Athlete says she felt intense pain from coach’s forceful grab at finish line

Athlete criticizes coach for causing her pain, demands apology

Kim Wan-ki (left), head coach of Samcheok City Hall’s track team, wraps a towel around runner Lee Su-min after she finishes first in the Korean women’s elite full-course race at the 2025 Incheon International Marathon at the Incheon Munhak Sports Complex on Sunday. (KBS)

Marathoner Lee Su-min, whose finish line moment went viral after she was seen grimacing and pushing away her coach, said Tuesday that his forceful physical contact caused pain.

“At the time, I was gasping for air and mentally overwhelmed, but soon someone suddenly grabbed me forcefully from the side. I felt intense pain in my chest and solar plexus. Even as I tried to pull away, his arm pressed so hard that I felt restrained,” she wrote on Instagram.

The 33-year-old marathoner from Samcheok City Hall’s track team finished the 42.195-kilometer course first in the women’s elite division with a time of 2 hours, 34 minutes and 41 seconds at the 2025 Incheon International Marathon held on Sunday.

A screenshot of Lee’s Instagram post explaining that her coach’s forceful grab caused severe pain, prompting her to push him away at the finish line. (Instagram, @__min__.2)

When she reached the finish line, her coach, former marathoner Kim Won-ki, tried to drape a towel over her upper body. Grimacing, she pushed him away. The moment was captured on the live broadcast and quickly circulated online.

Her reaction prompted many online users to debate whether the coach’s actions could be considered standard post-race care for the athlete, with some arguing it could be seen as sexual harassment.

The marathoner, however, said the issue was not sexual harassment, but “excessive physical contact” that led her to be prescribed “two weeks of treatment for the pain and mental stress.”

“Right after the incident, I told him his forceful pull at the finish line caused me pain and that the behavior was inappropriate. Even though I apologized for the push, which might have made him uncomfortable, he offered no apology for his excessive grab," she said.

“Even after the video spread and the controversy grew, the coach never tried to speak with me,” she said.

Lee's comments came a day after Kim, the coach, spoke to the media, explaining that he was a standard post-race routine in marathon events, only meant to protect the athlete.

“Marathons can be extremely tough. If we don’t help (athletes) after the finish, they could fall and hurt themselves," he said in an interview with a local news outlet.

"To viewers, the scene of me holding her and her pulling away might be interpreted as inappropriate, but in our sport, this kind of situation happens all the time.”