With "Victory" etched in blood on her wrist and the words of her country's leader Kim Jong-il in her head, North Korea's Ham Pong-sil won the women's marathon yesterday for her country's first athletics medal.
On the penultimate day of the Asian Games, China added four golds to lift their athletics tally to 15, Iran defended their soccer title with a 2-1 defeat of Japan, and hosts South Korean dominated badminton and beat Iran to take men's volleyball gold.
The Iranians, winners of the football gold in 1974, 1990 and 1998, added a fourth Games men's title with second-half goals from Javad Kazemeyan and Mohsen Bayatiniya. South Korea beat Thailand 3-0 to clinch third place earlier in the day.
In diving, "Prince of the Platform" Tian Liang clinched the men's 10-metre platform to complete a Chinese clean sweep of all eight golds in diving at Pusan, the seventh Asian Games in a row in which China has taken every diving title.
With a handful of events remaining before today's finale, China head the medals table with 149 golds, South Korea lie second on 92 and Japan are third on 44.
Ham entered the stadium to a rousing reception from North Korea's official cheerleaders and brass band, raising both arms as she crossed the line in two hours 33 minutes and 35 seconds.
"Before I came here I met great leader Kim Jong-il and he told me to bring home the gold medal," she said. "When it started getting tough at 35km, I remembered what he said and it gave me extra strength to finish strong.
"My team mates wrote a message in blood on my wrist, which said `Victory'. During the race that gave me a lift too."
Saudi Arabia claimed their seventh athletics gold by winning the men's 4x400 relay in 3:02.47.
India regained the 4x400 women's title they last won in 1986. KM Beenamol, who had won gold in the 800, joined Geetha Satti, Jayalakshmi Vadivel and Jincy Philpes to secure India's seventh athletics gold in Pusan.
India were told at an Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) hearing on Saturday, however, that 1,500m gold medallist Sunita Rani had tested positive for a banned drug. She denied taking prohibited substances.
Uzbekistan dominated the top four weight divisions in boxing as they won five of the 12 gold medals up for grabs: in middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight and superheavyweight crowns.
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