This Japanese runner has come a long way. A few months earlier, by brilliantly winning the marathon selections, Shizō Kanakuri obtained the privilege of representing his country on this starting line. It was the easiest step for this athlete who had been used to running to school every day since he was very young. A student at the Tokyo Normal School, without a single penny in his pocket, the athlete must now finance his trip to Sweden.
In May, once the money has been collected through a pot and his bags packed, Shizō Kanakuri begins his long journey to Stockholm. He and his coach crossed the Sea of Japan by boat, traveled to Russia aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway and then sailed across the Baltic Sea towards the Swedish capital. Kanakuri arrives on site in early June, a month before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Tested by the trip, victim of gastric disorders caused by a new diet very different from Japanese cuisine, he experiences the last weeks of preparation far from optimal. His trainer also fell ill and was unable to train. Whatever. On July 14, 1912, Shizō Kanakuri set foot on the track at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, ready to tackle the forty-kilometer Games marathon.
Testing conditions leading to tragedy
Not everyone had the same courage. A third of the ninety-five runners entered did not show up, the heatwave having taken their toll on their motivation. The start, given at the beginning of the afternoon under a blazing sun, cooled them down. Giving up is probably wiser.
All along the course, runners are dropping like flies. Behind the peloton, the procession of ambulances and doctors picks up dehydrated athletes by the shovelful. One of them will never get back up. Flag bearer of the Portuguese delegation, Francisco Lazaro was found in agony at the thirtieth kilometer mark and then rushed to the nearest hospital.
In all the newspapers in Sweden, the news section only talks about this mysterious disappearance.
In the opinion of doctors, this amateur athlete, a carpenter by profession, was the victim of meningitis caused by heat. The next morning, his death was announced. Francisco Lazaro officially becomes the first athlete to die at the Olympic Games.
Missing
At the end of the effort, South African Ken McArthur crossed the finish line first after 2 hours and 36 minutes of racing, setting a new Olympic record. He is ahead of his teammate Christian Gitsham. Of the sixty-eight runners on the starting line, thirty-five finished the event. Thirty-two abandonments were recorded and one rider was missing: Shizō Kanakuri.
Despite searches carried out by the Swedish police, the Japanese athlete remains untraceable. Speculation is rife. Some claim to have seen him pass out in the streets of Stockholm while others, more pranksters, say that Shizō Kanakuri was seen dead drunk in a bar in the Swedish capital in the company of two pretty young ladies.
In all Swedish newspapers, the news section only talks about this mysterious disappearance. The Japanese marathon runner vanished, deceived the vigilance of the race commissioners, but he did not die: at the Antwerp Games of 1920, Shizō Kanakuri this time crossed the finish line, credited with an honorable sixteenth place.
A story to sleep on
So what happened to him in Stockholm eight years earlier? The question could have remained unanswered forever. The legend of the missing Japanese runner fell into oblivion until a Swedish journalist dusted it off in 1962, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Stockholm Games.
Determined to elucidate this affair, the journalist traces Shizō Kanakuri and finds him. Half a century later, the Japanese marathon runner has become a respected geography teacher, working just a few kilometers from his native village. Married, he has six children and ten grandchildren. In an interview with the Swedish journalist, he agrees to reveal the truth and put an end to the mystery.
Aged 76, he completed the course by running and entered the Olympic stadium to the ovation of the spectators who had come in large numbers.
Like half of the competitors, Shizō Kanakuri was also the victim of a failure. Around the thirtieth kilometer, seeing a man sipping fruit juice in front of his house, the Japanese runner stopped to ask him for a drink. The resident shows immense compassion, returns with water and offers him a bed to rest. Shizō Kanakuri readily agrees. The runner lies down to take a simple nap of a few minutes, but Morpheus plunges him into a deep sleep which lasts until early morning.
The Japanese marathon runner wakes up covered in shame, pained at having dishonored his country by failing to complete the event. For fear of having to publicly explain his abandonment, he decided to return to Japan incognito by taking the first boat to the Asian continent. Shizō Kanakuri returns to his home, praying that his misfortune will never be revealed.
When it did, half a century later, the story triggered strong emotion in Sweden. In 1967, the Swedish Olympic Committee invited Shizō Kanakuri to Stockholm to complete the marathon he was unable to complete. Aged 76, he completed the course by running and entered the Olympic stadium to the ovation of the spectators who had come in large numbers. 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20 seconds after the start, Shizō Kanakuri crossed the finish line, arms raised to the sky.
