If you thought we were done with Olympic-themed Wiki Corners, you’re wrong! Today I bring you the story of the missing Olympic marathoner. His name was Shizo Kanakuri, and in his native Japan he’s known as the “father of marathon”. But he also holds a pretty interesting Guinness World Record for the longest time to complete a marathon with a time of 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds.
Shizo Kanakuri qualified for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, the first Japanese athlete to quality for an Olympics. He made a grueling 18-day trip to Stockholm from Japan, by ship and then by train. When he finally got to Sweden, he was weak from the long journey, struggled to sleep due to the midnight sun, and had issues with the local food. To make matters worse, the Japanese coach was bedridden with a case of tuberculosis, so Kanakuri didn’t get sufficient pre-race training.
The day of the marathon, Stockholm was in the midst of a heat wave. 32 of the original 68 runners dropped out of the race, and one even died because of the heat! Kanakuri also experienced debilitating hyperthermia. Sixteen miles into the race, an exhausted Kanakuri stumbled off the race course and into a garden party, where a Swedish family was kind enough to give him buns, orange juice, and a place to rest for an hour. Embarrassed by his failure, Kanakuri packed his bags and returned to Japan…without notifying race officials.
Kanakuri’s disappearance took on a life of its own in the years following the Olympics. Sightings and rumors of the lost Japanese runner in and around Stockholm persisted for decades. Sweden even added his name to their missing persons list, which remained there for 50 years.
Despite all of this, Kanakuri continued to train and compete, including at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics. A Swedish reporter eventually discovered him teaching geography in southern Japan and in 1967, Kanakuri was invited back to finish the race. He accepted, and on March 20, 1967, he finally finished the marathon he had started way back in 1912. Before heading back to Japan, Kanakuri paid a visit to the villa where he had sought refuge all those years ago. There he met the son of the original hosts, who fittingly served him a glass of orange juice. He also told Kanakuri that one of his family’s most treasured heirlooms was a Japanese scroll he had given them to thank them for their hospitality. After looking at the scroll, Kanakuri sadly told them that it was just an old Japanese customs form.
Kanakuri lived to the age of 92. His birthplace is now a museum and in 2012 he was the subject of a special exhibit commemorating the centennial of the Stockholm games.
Learn more here.