Imagine training your whole life for the Olympics, traveling 18 days by ship and train to a foreign country, then vanishing in the middle of the race. That actually happened. In 1912, a Japanese marathon runner named Shizo Kanakuri quietly dropped out of the Stockholm Games and disappeared. For over 50 years, the world thought he’d gone missing. In truth? His story was way better than anyone imagined.
A Grueling Journey Before the Starting Line
Shizo Kanakuri was one of Japan’s first Olympians. But getting to Sweden in 1912 was no joke. He traveled over 10,000 miles by sea and rail, through Russia and Siberia. By the time he arrived, he was physically drained and barely acclimated to the Scandinavian summer. Then came the marathon, 100-degree heat, on unfamiliar terrain, in shoes that were barely holding together.
The Disappearing Act
About halfway through the race, dehydrated and dizzy, Kanakuri stumbled into a Swedish family’s garden. They offered him water and a place to rest. He accepted, grateful. But he never got back up to rejoin the race. Instead, deeply embarrassed, he quietly left Sweden the next day without telling race officials.
To the Olympic committee, he was missing. Literally. They didn’t know if he had collapsed, fled, or died. For decades, he was listed as “vanished.”
Back in Japan, Life Went On
Kanakuri went home and lived a very un-vanished life. He became a teacher, had children, and helped establish the tradition of the Hakone Ekiden, Japan’s famous university relay race. He also coached future Olympians. But he never spoke much about what happened in 1912. It was like a ghost he carried quietly.
A Playful Redemption
In 1967, Swedish authorities finally tracked him down and invited him back to finish what he started. At 75 years old, he returned to Stockholm and ceremoniously crossed the finish line, 55 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, and 32 minutes after he began.
He smiled and joked, “It was a long trip. Along the way, I got married, had six children and ten grandchildren.”
A Different Kind of Victory
Kanakuri never won Olympic gold. But his story became something richer than a medal. He represented endurance in a way no stopwatch could measure. The quiet humility of failure, the strength to live on, and the grace to laugh at yourself half a century later.
It’s not always about the race. Sometimes it’s about the return.
Sources:
1. Shizo Kanakuri: The Man Who Took 54 Years to Finish a Marathon
2. Olympics.com – Shizo Kanakuri