Shigeki Tanaka
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was a Japanese
long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...
who won the 1951
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...
.


Early life

Tanaka was born in 1931. Tanaka was 13 and living 20 miles from
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
at the time of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing. Following his Boston Marathon victory, he recalled, "We saw a bright light and heard a little noise. But no one thought anything about it at the time ... three days later, we heard the terrible news." He laid the groundwork for his career as a marathon runner by running 20 km from
Shōbara 270px, Shōbara City Hall 270px, Bihoku-kyuryo Park 270px, Shobara city center area aerial photograph is a city in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,343 in 14984 households and a population density of ...
to a Saijō municipal stadium as a high school student. He was a first-year student at
Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...
at the time of the Boston Marathon.


1951 Boston Marathon

Japanese athletes had been barred from the
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and from all major international competitions after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The 1951 Boston Marathon was only the second post-World War II athletic competition, after the
1951 Asian Games The 1951 Asian Games ( hi, 1951 एशियाई खेल; Marathi: १९५१ आशियाई खेळ), officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Game ...
held a month earlier, to invite Japanese athletes. Tanaka was one of four Japanese runners invited to compete by Will Cloney of the Boston Athletic Association. The others were Japan's national champion Shunji Koyunagi, Yoshitaka Uchikawa, and Hiromi Haigo. At the time, Tanaka was 20 years old, and weighed 118 pounds. The runners stopped in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
en route to Boston. In each stopover they went to a movie theater and people wrapped money in paper and threw it on stage for them. Tanaka later recalled that he "felt pretty strange to receive money like that, like a beggar almost ... We bought sugar to bring back to Japan—that's how bad things were." The four were given a welcoming ceremony arranged by servicemen at the Charlestown Naval Shipyard. Because Tanaka was from Hiroshima, ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' nicknamed him "atomic boy", which he found "a burden". Tanaka later recalled that people in the United States welcomed them warmly and both Japanese and Americans cheered him during the race. Tanaka became the Boston Marathon's first Japanese winner. He won the event in 2:27:45, the third-fastest time in the event's history to that point. He took the lead on Heartbreak Hill and led convincingly with four miles to go. Observers expected him to break Suh Yun-bok's 1947 course record, but following his pre-race plans, Tanaka stuck to his own schedule; he did not push himself and finished comfortably. After the race, he stated through an interpreter, "I did not plan a record-breaking race, I ran only to win." Tanaka won the marathon racing in
tabi are traditional Japanese socks worn with thonged footwear such as zori, dating back to the 15th century. History Japanese are usually understood today to be a kind of split-toed sock that is not meant to be worn alone outdoors, much like regu ...
-inspired split-toe running shoes made by Onitsuka, which he thought would give him better traction. The three other Japanese runners in the race also did very well: Shunji Koyunagi finished in 5th place, Yoshitaka Uchikawa in 8th place, and Hiromi Haigo in 9th place.


Reception and legacy

Tanaka's win inspired in Japan an enduring enthusiasm for distance running and an affection for the Boston Marathon. His win was a landmark moment in restoring the war-shattered country's dignity and honor following World War II. The race and Tanaka's victory marked the beginning of a strong athletic relationship between Japan and Boston, and the beginning of a tradition of Japanese victories in the race.


Post-running career

After his running career, Tanaka worked as a salaryman for a
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
area department store and served as a director at the Japanese Amateur Athletics Federation until his retirement. Tanaka died on October 4, 2022.


Medal theft

On May 5, 1998, Tanaka's house in
Utsunomiya is the prefectural capital city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 519,223, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its ''gyoza'' ...
was ransacked and his Boston Marathon winner's medal stolen. The Boston Athletic Association awarded Tanaka a replacement medal on July 10, 1998, for his achievement as the first Japanese to win the event; the association's president Frank Porter said in a message accompanying the medal that Tanaka's victory was the beginning of Japan's strength in the race. The stolen medal was recovered in a police raid on July 22, 1998. A 19-year-old Brazilian of Japanese ancestry was arrested on suspicion of stealing the medal and on unrelated theft and assault charges. During questioning, the suspect implicated himself in an unrelated murder and was arrested on suspicion of that crime. The two medals were subsequently displayed at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Tanaka presented the Boston Athletic Association with a "trophy of friendship" on behalf of the town of Saijō in gratitude for replacing the stolen medal.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Shigeki 1931 births 2022 deaths Japanese athletics coaches Japanese male long-distance runners Boston Marathon male winners Japanese male marathon runners People from Shōbara Sportspeople from Hiroshima Prefecture