The Boston Marathon is one of the oldest organized races in the world. Since its beginning in 1897, the race has taken place every single year, including a virtual version during the COVID era. This has helped it get numerous glorious moments, helping in its amazing reputation among the track and field fans. However, despite its brilliant reputation, there have only been a few track stars who have really caught the eye of the public.

One of these athletes came last year in 2023. Won Jung seemed like a very ordinary participant in the race. However, unlike his counterparts in the marathon, his objective wasn’t just running and finishing the race, hoping for glory. Won was running for a very special cause. He was part of the Shooting Touch, a non-profit organization that uses basketball to help youth and women get better medical and economic facilities.

Won Jung was a part of the plan to raise awareness for this cause and thus ran the race in a very unique way. Won ran the whole marathon with a basketball in his hand and kept dribbling it throughout the course. This helped grab people’s attention who cheered for him throughout the race. It was a great moment as we saw an amalgamation of two very popular sports. The footage of Won dribbling a basketball around the track was captured by X account Sirius XM.

This video later went viral on the platform as the track and field community was floored to see someone attempting to dribble a basketball while running the course of the Boston Marathon. After all, most people would struggle to complete the whole distance even without a ball in their hand. But Wong Jung’s story is quite incredible.

In fact, he was even featured in the NBA radio show “Starting Lineup” for his incredible tale. Thus, Won had fascinated most fans with his antics at the Boston Marathon. Many in X also started speculating about his future, saying that maybe a place in the NBA awaits him. Others jokingly talked about how what he was doing in the marathon would actually result in a foul at the NBA. Thus, it made for quite an interesting comment section.

Track and Field Community reacts to Won Jong dribbling a basketball while running

Many in the track and field community loved what Wong Jung did in the race. This is because not only did his positive display with the basketball bring attention to his cause, but it also brought attention to the sport and the marathon itself. Numerous basketball fans started spotting the whole thing, giving the Boston Marathon a bigger audience for the next race.

Thus, many praised Won’s efforts. In fact, some loved it so much they wanted to replicate what he was doing themselves. “New goal,” said one fan. But one really had to give credit to Won’s incredible display of his drive to run his way to the end with a basketball in his hand. There have been numerous cases in the Boston Marathon where the runners weren’t able to finish their races because of extreme tiredness and fatigue.

Thus, to actually end up finishing the course while dribbling a basketball shows immense dedication on his part, which is why the athlete was given so much love on social media. “Real dedication to the game.” However, one fan argued that having the basketball might have actually helped the athlete in his race. As running a marathon is all about checking one’s fitness and survival skills, many athletes can’t seem to manage to keep their fatigue levels down during the race.

This is why these track and field stars struggle to complete the marathon. But when they have a basketball in their hand, a lot of their concentration goes on the ball, helping divert the mind from the ongoing fatigue in the body. Thus, the ball might have actually helped him. “Gave his mind something to focus on other than the time… smart man,” said one track and field community member. Another group of fans speculated on Won Jung’s future.

Some believed that this incredible skill shown at the track places him in a great position to compete in the NBA. Thus, people started putting him into teams and thought about which side needed the athlete the most. Eventually, a lot of them decided that partnering Won Jung with LeBron James and Anthony Davis might really be a blockbuster move.

“Lakers need him too,” said one fan. But, while the speculations about the NBA carried on, one fan hilariously jibed that Won broke a vital role in basketball, which was that an athlete cannot take more than two steps with a ball in their hand. This would result in “travel.” Thus, he’ll have to work on that if he wants to join the NBA. For now, the occasional track and field runner seems to be content in his job as the Executive Assistant and Data Management Specialist at the Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA). Hopefully, his future shapes out just like he plans it to be, considering all the good work that he has been taking part in.