Throughout history, the Summer Olympic Games have witnessed exciting and strange events, which has left them engraved in the minds of many interested parties and followers.
As the 33rd Summer Olympics in Paris approach next Friday, we take a look at one of the strangest events in the history of the Olympic Games.
Japanese runner finishes marathon in 54 years
Shizuo Kanakuri, a Japanese marathon runner, competed in a local marathon in 1911 to select the winner to participate in the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. Kanakuri won that race and actually qualified for the 2012 Stockholm Olympics.
It took Kanakuri 18 days to reach Sweden by ship and train, and on the day of the race, the temperature was so high in Stockholm that many competitors declined to participate.
Kanakuri was very tired from the long journey and suffering from Swedish food, but he still participated in the race.
Kanakuri, who was 21 years old at the time, lost consciousness halfway through the race, and decided to withdraw and return to Japan without informing the Swedish authorities of his decision to return, fearing embarrassment and being labeled a failure for not being able to finish the race.
The Swedish authorities considered Kanakuri missing for more than 50 years before discovering that he was alive and well in Japan, in addition to his participation in the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games after the Stockholm Games.
After the Swedes found Kanakuri, they asked him to return to Stockholm to unofficially complete the race.
Kanakuri welcomed the idea and returned to Sweden in 1967 at the age of 75, and succeeded in completing the race in a time of 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 8 hours, 32 minutes and 20 seconds, becoming the hero of one of the strangest Olympic stories ever.
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