54 Years After the 1912 Olympics

This is definitely not a postcard, but I wish it was.

I found this on Facebook, thanks to www.unbelievablefactsblog.com

What an incredible man.

The day of the marathon was incredibly hot and only half the competitors completed it. Shizo Kanakuri apparently had suffered on the long trip from Japan and collapsed during the race. He was embarrassed by his failure and, after being cared for by a farming family who found him, he secretly returned to Japan.

Unknown to officials, he subsequently competed in the 1920 marathon, coming 16th, and again in 1924, when he failed once again to finish.

Shizo Kanakuri died in 1983 at the age of 92.

1924 Paris Olympic Games

I've been collecting Olympic Games postcards - old, new and reprints - for may years and this blog is to share some of my favourite postcards with you.

Many of my postcards are swimming related, having once been a competitive swimmer myself, but all of my favourites highlight athletes participating in their sports.

The first postcard from my collection I'm sharing with you is of the Paris 1924 Olympic Games.

I'll be adding new postcards here as often as I can. If you also collect Olympic Games postcards, I'd love to hear from you.