Shizo Kanakuri Vanishes from the Olympic Marathon

In November 1911, twenty-year-old Shizo Kanakuri ran the Japanese domestic qualification trial for the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. He recorded what was claimed as a world best of two hours, thirty-two minutes, and forty-five seconds, though the course measured about 25 miles, roughly forty kilometers, rather than the standard marathon distance. Kanakuri, then a student at the Tokyo Higher Normal School, secured selection alongside the sprinter Yahiko Mishima as one of Japan's first two Olympic athletes.

Reaching Sweden required a grueling eighteen-day overland and sea journey by ship and via the Trans-Siberian Railway. By the time Kanakuri arrived in Stockholm, the protracted travel had severely weakened his physical condition, and he needed five days of rest before he was fit to run. During the journey he had also had to look after an ill member of the small Japanese party. When the men's marathon began on July 14, 1912, the day was very hot for Stockholm, with unconfirmed reports of 32 degrees Celsius in the shade.