Revisiting Tokyo: How it was 49 years ago

IOC President Jacques Rogge shows the name of the city of Tokyo elected to host the 2020 Summer Olympics

For months there has been speculation about the Hosts of the 2020 Olympics. Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid have been battling it out as their people agonisingly waited for the results. As Jacques Rogge, the current president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) slowly took out the card to name the winning city as Tokyo, the usually reticent Japanese people were ecstatic, shouting and bouncing, laughing and crying.

As Japan hosts the Olympics for the second time, we travel back in time to see how it was 40 years ago.

All the Facts

Tokyo had the honor of hosting the first ever Olympics to be held in Asia. Yoshinori Sakai was chosen to carry the Olympic flame as he was born on August 6, 1945 – the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in homage to the victims and symbolize Japan’s postwar reconstruction and peace.

The 1964 Olympics saw the introduction of two sports; Judo and Volleyball. The Japan women’s team emerged victorious in Volleyball, the first team event for women in Olympics. Japan swept away three of the 4 medals in Judo, but the Dutch underdog Anton Geesnik spoiled the party defeating local favourite Akio Kaminaga.

A cinder running track was used for the last time in the Athletic events while a fibreglass pole was used for the first time in the poulvault competition. The Host nation finished 3rd, behind USA and USSR who finished 1st and 2nd respectively.

The Story

Every Olympics narrates a tale. The story of Australian Swimmer Dawn Fraser was one which took a lot of U-turns than one could imagine. Fraser became the first woman to finish the 100m freestyle in less than a minute, defying the odds to beat her own world record in 58.9 seconds. Her celebration fell short, as she was involved in a horrific car crash that killed her mother and left her with serious injuries.

Fraser had a lot of mental baggage hanging around her head, more so as she was the driver of the car involved in the crash. In the run-up to the games, it was only a question of whether Fraser would bow down to the emotional pressure or whether Swimming heals her enough to forget the tragedy.

The American Sharon Stouder was regarded as the only one who could challenge the Australian. Stouder caught up after Fraser’s brilliant start at the 70- metre mark. Fraser had the last laugh as she pipped Stouder to finish in 59.5 seconds.

It was no fairy tale ending for the Aussie, as Fraser was arrested by the Japanese Police for involvement in the theft of the Olympic flag from the Imperial Palace. Even though the Emperor Hirohito did not make it much of a matter, Fraser’s “practical joke” did not go well with the Australian Embassy. Fraser was given a 10-year ban, ending a illustrious career with four gold medals and four silver medals at the Olympics.

Moments to Remember

Fair play deepens the faith that people have in Sports, as we witnessed a similar heart-warming event in the 1964 Olympics. Swedish yachtsmen Lars Gunnar Käll and Stig Lennart Käll set a benchmark as they save gave up their race to save the life of a fellow competitor. Their outstanding sportsmanship made them the first ones to receive the Tokyo Trophy for fair play.

Even as other would have forgotten about this, the Japanese women’s volleyball captain Masae Kasai certainly had a lot to remember. Post her victory with the Japanese team, Kasai was invited to meet japan’s Prime Minister, Eisaku Sato. Kasai expressed her disappointment in meeting any men during the event because of the difficult training regime. Sato’s insistence led her to meet Kazuo Nakamura, whom she later married.

The Ethiopian Abebe Bikila became the first athlete to win the Marathon twice, while Soviet Gymnast Larysa Latynina brought her career medal to an incredible total of 18. Imre Polyak was fourth-time lucky as the Roman clinched the gold medal, after finishing 2nd in the previous 3 Olympics games.