World News for Students of English

24-04-2014 07:00

Runners in London weren’t the only ones taking part in a 26-mile challenge on Sunday, as North Koreans lined the streets of Pyongyang to cheer on participants of its own marathon.

Tens of thousands of supporters applauded, cheered and high-fived the runners, who were followed by a truck blasting out patriotic music.

The event was held to commemorate the birthday of its founder, Kim Il Sung, and was open to foreign athletes for the first time.

The country’s state-run television reported there was about 400 foreigners, including amateurs, from 15 different countries took part.

The marathon’s chairman said the run was held so that both professional and amateur runners would share a good experience and form new friendships.

The men’s category was won by a North Korean with a Rwandan man coming in second and an Ukrainian in third, whilst North Koreans swept all the medals in the women’s race.

Difficult words: blast out (to produce a lot of loud music), commemorate (to do something to show that you remember and respect somebody important), whilst (while).

Source: www.itn.co.uk