Know Your Olympics: Stockholm Olympics 1912

Official Asian Debut at Olympics -

Official Asian debut at Olympics

Asia made their individual debut at the Paris Olympics in 1900. However, it was at the 1912 Olympics that an official team was sent from an Asian country.

Japan's journey to the Olympics was unique. According to Baron Pierre De Coubertin, his intention for the Olympic Games was to be global in scale. However, to his disappointment, no athletes from any Asian nation participated in the first four games, causing him considerable concern.

At that time, Kristian Hellström of the Swedish Olympic Committee wrote to the government of Japan to ask if they were going to send teams to the 1912 Olympics. The Japanese government did not want to embarrass itself on an international stage by saying no, so they directed the Ministry of Education to look into it. Moreover, Japan had attracted international attention by defeating Russia in 1905, something few had thought possible.

The Ministry turned to Kanō Jigorō, the founder of modern judo. Two athletes represented Japan in their Olympic debut. One was Yahiko Mishima, a sprinter. The other was Shizo Kanakuri, a marathoner. During the marathon, Kanakuri lost consciousness and was taken care of by a caring Swedish family. However, humiliated by his experience, he returned to Japan.

When Swedish authorities discovered his experience, they gave him another chance a few years later. He accepted and completed the marathon in 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds, remarking, "It was a long trip. Along the way, I got married, had six children and 10 grandchildren!"