Shizo, the Ghost of the 1912 Olympics #history #untoldstories #mystery #olympics #shorts

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]It took 54 years, 8 months, and 6 days for a world-class Olympian to finish a single marathon. It all started in 1912.

[00:00:09]The Stockholm games hit such an extreme temperature that half the runners dropped out, and one man, Francisco Lázaro, actually died. 16 miles in, Japanese runner Shizo Kanakuri collapsed from hypothermia. He was rescued by a local family and nursed back to health.

[00:00:26]Shizo felt like he failed and brought shame to his country. And so he left Sweden and went back to Japan without notifying race officials. Because he never technically checked out, the official Olympic registry listed him as missing and created a bizarre mystery for the next 50 years. But he wasn't hiding. Back in Japan, Shizo was a massive sports celebrity who co-founded the country's biggest marathons and even ran in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics.

[00:00:53]He was on the world stage, and yet he was still a ghost according to his first Olympic games. In 1967, a reporter tracked him down. Sweden invited the now 75-year-old back to finish his race.

[00:01:05]Shizo jogged across the finish line to claim the slowest record in human history.

[00:01:09]He's quoted to have said, "It was a long race. Along the way I got married, had six children, and 10 grandchildren." If you enjoy stories like these, follow for more.