Shigeki Tanaka
Shigeki Tanaka (田中 茂樹, Tanaka Shigeki, born April 7, 1931) is a retired long-distance runner from *an, and the winner of the 1951 Boston Marathon.
Contents
- 1 Early life
- 2 1951 Boston Marathon
- 2.1 Reception and legacy
- 3 Post-running career
- 4 Medal theft
- 5 References
Early life
Tanaka was 13 and living 20 miles from Hiroshima at the time of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing. After his 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 to a Saijō municipal stadium as a high school student. He was a first-year student at Nihon University at the time of the Boston Marathon.
1951 Boston Marathon
*anese athletes had been barred from the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and from all major international compe*ions after World War II. The 1951 Boston Marathon was only the second post-World War II athletic compe*ion, after the 1951 Asian Games held a month earlier, to invite *anese athletes. Tanaka was one of four *anese runners invited to compete by Will Cloney of the Boston Athletic *ociation. The others were *an's national champion Shunji Koyunagi, Yo*aka Uchikawa, and Hiromi Haigo. At the time, Tanaka was 20 years old, and weighed 118 pounds. The runners stopped in Hawaii, San Francisco and New York City 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 brought sugar to bring back to *an—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 nicknamed him "atomic boy", which he found "a burden". Tanaka later recalled that people in the United States welcomed them warmly and both *anese and Americans cheered him during the race.
Tanaka became the Boston Marathon's first *anese 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-inspired split-toe running shoes made by Onitsuka, which he thought would give him better traction.
The three other *anese runners in the race also did very well: Koyunagi finished in 5th place, Uchikawa in 8th place and Haigo in 9th place.
Reception and legacy
Tanaka's win inspired in *an 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 *an and Boston, and the beginning of a tradition of *anese victories in the race.
Post-running career
After his running career, Tanaka worked as a salaryman for a Tokyo area department store and served as a director at the *anese Amateur Athletics Federation until his retirement.
Medal theft
On May 5, 1998, Tanaka's house in Utsunomiya was ransacked and his Boston Marathon winner's medal stolen. The Boston Athletic *ociation awarded Tanaka a replacement medal on July 10, 1998, for his achievement as the first *anese to win the event; the *ociation's president Frank Porter said in a message accompanying the medal that Tanaka's victory was the beginning of *an's strength in the race.
The stolen medal was recovered in a police raid on July 22, 1998. A 19-year-old Brazilian of *anese ancestry was arrested on suspicion of stealing the medal and on unrelated theft and *ault charges. During questioning, the suspect implicated himself in an unrelated murder and was arrested on suspicion of the crime.
The two medals were subsequently displayed at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Tanaka presented the Boston Athletic *ociation with a "trophy of friendship" on behalf of the town of Saijō in gra*ude for replacing the stolen medal.