Man Took 54 Years To Reach Towards The Finish Line: Meet Shiso Kanakuri of Japan Who Completed The Longest Marathon In History

Key Points:

IMAGINE BEING PART OF A MARATHON that took 54 years to complete. Well, there was one named Shiso Kanakuri from Japan. To be clear, he wasn’t continuously running for five straight decades. Instead his story is even more interesting, filled with ‘bad luck’ and ‘failure’. Kanakuri started his marathon in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and after failing to finish the race, he abandoned the race out of fear of losing respect for his country. 

Kanakuri took 54 years, 246 days, five hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds to complete the longest marathon and the slowest in history.

See Also: Indian Origin Toddler Aarya Set To Become Youngest Person to Visit all 63 US National Parks, Soon to Break Guinness World Record

Kanakuri’s Journey To The Olympics Was Not Easy

Shiso Kanakuri began his marathon in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Sweden at the age of 20 years old. He proved himself to be able to represent his country, Japan, in the Olympics after qualifying in harsh circumstances in his home country. Kanakuri was able to defy expectations under the beliefs of perspiration and refused to consume any liquid which made him sick throughout the event. Though he was able to recover in the meantime to be ready for his qualification run. 

Kanakuri was able to qualify in 2 hours 32 minutes and 45 seconds for the Olympics. And for the first time Japan qualified for the prestigious sporting event. The 1912 Stockholm Games became the first Olympics where the athletes from every continent took part except Antarctica. But the most difficult part was to make the trip to Sweden from Japan for Kanakuri. The duo of Sprinter Mishima Yahiko and Shiso Kanakuri had not enough time to prepare after spending ten days on a train from Japan. They warmed up by running around the stations.

Yahiko fell ill and Kanakuri was still following the belief of perspiration during their journey. The day finally arrived on July 14, 1912. The heat took its shape affecting the athletes. Even after an exhausting journey, Kanakuri was able to line up with other athletes. The heat slowly succumbed to Kanakuri, still he knew that it’s all for his country. The pressure was on him.

See Also: Odisha tourism achieves Guinness record for largest serving of 'Pakhala', CM Majhi hails feat

Finished Where It All Began, In Stockholm, Sweden

The race began where Kanakuri’s devotion was not enough to get him through the race. He collapsed during the race and was tended by a family nearby. After his recovery, he knew that he would be forced to forfeit or else choose to flee home without any announcement. Kanakuri chose the second option. He feared for his country’s reputation on the global stage. Soon, he was not the only one to have suffered, because of the extreme heat over half of the athletes quit before they even crossed the finish line.

Kanakuri remained anonymous for years and later was declared missing in Sweden. He went back home and stayed there for 50 Years, and tried to make the most out of his 1912 Olympics Experience by training the students to prepare them for the next Games. Kanakuri became the “father of the marathon” in Japan after establishing the Tokyo-Hakone College Ekiden Race. He became popular in his country and competed in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics and 1924 Paris Olympics. But he was yet to complete the Sweden race after going missing for decades.

In 1967, after 54 years, Kanakuri, 75 at the time, was found by TV channel Sveriges (Sweden) Television. Kanakuri was living in Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, enjoying his retirement life. An offer was placed in front of him, whether he would like to finish what he started five decades ago. He agreed. In March 1967, Kanakuri finished what he was meant to 54 years ago, and became the slowest marathon runner in history.

Kanakuri told the press about his personal life and how long was this trip after the race. He passed away at the age of 92 in 1983 and till date is remembered for his huge contribution in helping his country reach the heights of athleticism. His work helped Japan to prepare the future generations for such global events. Though Kanakuri took his time, his records and true legacy will live on forever in sports event’s history.

Suggested Reading: