Song Kee-Chung: Korean To The Core

One of the most dramatic and enduring moment of any Olympic Games opening ceremony is when the Olympic flame is brought into the main stadium during the opening ceremony. There have been occasions when the theatre of the event has perhaps overshadowed the actual bearer, such as when Stein Gruber of Norway brought the 1994 Lillehammer torch down a ski jump, or when Antonio Rebollo used a flaming arrow to assist with the lighting of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic cauldron. On other occasions it has been the celebrity or relative athletic greatness of the final torchbearers who have defined an Olympic opening cermeony, as in the case of Rafer Johnson at Los Anegles in 1984, or Niklos Kaklamankis in Athens 2004. Finally, there are those times when the symbolism of that final torchbearer goes beyond spectacle or sporting greatness; that person or persons symbolizes something specific about the host nation and its culture. Cathy Freeman in Sydney 2000 is a prime example of this. In 1988 the presence of one man in the final deliverance of the Olympic torch brought (to quote David Wallechinsky) "tears to an entire nation...". That country was South Korea, and the torchbearer who evoked such a powerful response from his countrymen and women was Sohn Kee-Chung. 52 years prior to the 76 year old's entrance into Seoul's Olympic stadium this immensely proud Korean had won a gold medal for the marathon whilst competing as a member of the Japanese team. Yet even though he had to wear the occupier's uniform, listen to their national anthem and even have his name changed to echo Japanese norms, Sohn never let the colonial masters of his homeland take away his dignity.

Sohn Kee-Chung was born in Sinŭiju, North P'yŏngan Province in 1912 and during his youth he would run against friends riding bicycles, as well as up and down logging tracks near his home town. When his talent was recognised by the relevant authorities he was then sent to Yangjung High School in Seoul, where many well-credentialled Korean runners were based. Running for Sohn was not just a physical activity, it was a way of showing his Korean-ness. As quoted in "Berlin Games: How Hitler Stole The Olympic Dream" by Guy Walters, Sohn stated:

"The Japanese could stop our musicians from playing our songs. They could stop our singers and silence our speakers. But they could not stop me from running."

After initial success in the 800 metres and 1500 metres Sohn turned to the marathon. Winning his first three races held in Seoul (possibly over a reduced distance), Sohn Kee-Chung was twice national champion by 1935. In April his considerable marathon reputation spread beyond Asia, when it was reported that a 'Japanese' runner had beaten the two and a half hour mark for the distance. In his seven races that year (four in Korea, three in Japan) Sohn cemented his position as a leading exponent of the longest distance run by any Olympic athlete, then made a definitive statement of intent with his marathon run of November 3rd 1935. Completing a course staged in Tokyo Song Kee-Chung crossed the finish line after 2 hours 26 minutes and 42 seconds. This was a new world record. This was almost five minutes faster than that recorded by 1932 Los Angeles marathon gold medallist Juan Carlos Zabala of Argentina. The issue for Sohn going into the Olympic year and the 1936 Berlin Summer Games wasn't his fitness or speed; it was his nationality.

At the first Japanese Olympic trial marathon held on April 18th 1936 Sohn Kee-Chung was running under his Japanese name of Kitei Son, and whilst he laboured under this cultural burden his athletic ability was in no way impaired. Winning in a time of 2.28.32 the Korean beat leading Japanese entrants Shinichi Nakamura and Fusahige Suzuki. Then in a final trial event Sohn came second behind Tamao Shiaku, and these two plus another Korean native, Nam Seung-yong (a.k.a. Shoryu Nan) would form the basis of the Japanese entries into the Berlin marathon.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world's marathon runners were also preparing for the Berlin Games. Two South Africans, Johannes Coleman and Henry Gibson both set sub 2 hour 33 minute times in their national championship. In Britain Donald McNab Robertson and Ernest Harper qualifed for Berlin in July at the AAA Championships with times about 9 minutes slower than Sohn's world record. The Americans had three contenders for Berlin, William McMahon, Mel Porter and John Kelley. However none of these three were close to Sohn's times. Finally the Argentinian Zabala trained extensively in the host city of the 1936 Summer Olympics for several months prior to the games, and in the absence of a leading German competitor established himself as a local favourite. The Berlin marathon promised to be a great race.

The 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics opened on Saturday August 1st, and both before and after that date whenever Sohn Kee-Chung met anyone in Berlin he took the opportunity to impress upon officials, journalists and fans alike that he was Korean, not Japanese. He even went to the effort of signing his name in its Korean form, not as Kitei Son. Yet when it came to the day of the marathon, Sunday August 9th he like his compatriot Nam wore the Hi-no-maru or Rising Sun of Japan. Lined up against a field of 56 competitors from 27 countries, Sohn was about to stage a truly unique act of national protest against foreign domination of his homeland.

The Berlin course ran from the Olympiastadion through the Grunewald forest, then back into the main stadium for one last lap before the finishing line was reached. Conditions for the marathoners were good, being dry and sunny with an air temperature of around 22 degrees celsius, and this assisted Zabala as he took off with great speed from the race's beginning. Wearing a white handkerchief on his head the Argentinian set a quick pace with the first 8 kilometres traversed in 26 minutes 18 seconds. Portuguese runner Manuel Dias was in second place, but Sohn and Britain's Harper were also near the front of the race. The lead narrowed at the 15 kilometres mark with Dias only lagging about 100 seconds behind Zabala, with Sohn and Harper closing the gap to be half a minute behind the Portuguese runner.

By the half way mark Dias was caught by the Korean and the Briton, and Zabala's lead was dropping to less than a minute. Then in the style of many an Olympic gold medallist Zabala fought back, lengthening his lead to 90 seconds at the 25 kilometre point. Harper and Sohn were locked together in joint second whilst Ellison 'Tarzan' Brown of the USA surged into fourth. Then came the crucial moment in the 1936 Marathon. At the 28 kilometre mark as Zabala approached the northern end of the neighbouring Avus raceway he tripped, fell and recovered just as Harper and Sohn passed him. Sohn took the lead by the 31 kilometre mark (leading by 16 seconds from Harper), whilst within another kilometre Zabala dropped out. The Korean extended his lead over Harper at every major mark between this point and the stadium. Meanwhile, in the battle for the bronze Sohn's fellow-countryman Nam claimed third position by the 35th kilometre. The order wouldn't change from here until the end of the race. Sohn Kee-Chung racing under the 'official' name of Kitei Son returned to the Berlin stadium in first place, crossing the finish line to win the gold medal. Nam was finishing quickly but Harper claimed silver, even as his one of his shoes filled with blood from a bad foot blister. It was the first marathon gold for an Asian country at the Olympic Games, even though it wasn't actually the one that the winner believed he was truly representing. Mobbed by Japanese journalists Sohn had to endure their claims to his victory on behalf of their nation; this was a bittersweet gold medal victory.

Foreshadowing a far more notorious incident mounted by Tommy Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, when the time came for the medal presentation the two Korean medallists Sohn and Nam showed their distaste for representing Japan. With the Japanese anthem playing and the Rising Sun climbing up two of the stadium's flag poles Sohn Kee-Chung and Nam Seung-yong bowed their heads in mute protest, with Sohn even obscuring his uniform's Japanese emblem. Following this Sohn made sure to point out to those reporters he was Korean not Japanese, however his Japanese minders made sure that this point didn't get translated. Sohn was even tempted to tell Adolf Hitler his story, yet the Korean demurred at the last moment. It would have been unfathomable for Hitler to understand the Korean's situation, and as Guy Walter's points out the German dictator wouldn't have cared.

There were several intriguing postscripts to Sohn Kee Chung's victory. As a further expression of national pride the Korean newspaper Dong-a-Ilbo reported Sohn's gold accompanied with an edited photo that removed the Japanese flag on his sweatshirt. The colonial Japanese government respnded to this act of defiance by jailing 8 Korean staff members of the newspaper and then suspended its publication for 9 months. Meanwhile Sohn and Harper were brought back to Berlin so that famous German documentary director Leni Riefenstahl could re-film segments of the marathon. This incident may have added to the lustre of the Berlin Olympics official film, but it again insulted a great Korean gold medallist. Sohn retired after these events in 1936, never running for Japanese governed Korea again. However in 1948 he was given the honour of carrying South Korea's flag at the London Olympics. This partially reinforced his position as a Korean patriot on the world stage, but it was back in Seoul more than half a century after his Berlin gold medal that Sohn Kee-Chung was allowed to run in front of his own countrymen at their Olympics. Whilst the IOC never changed its records to show Kitei Son was not who the Japanese represented, but the Korean Sohn Kee-Chung both he and all Koreans knew where his heart and spirit lay.





Sources:

• "The Berlin Games: How Hitler Stole The Olympic Dream" by Guy Walters, John Murray, 2006
• "The Official Report fo the 1936 Berlin Olympics: Volume II" (available online at http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1936/1936v2sum.pdf)
• "The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition" by David Wallechinsky, Aurum Press, 2008
• Wikipedia Article - Sohn Kee-Chung Biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sohn_Kee-chung
• "The Olympic Marathon: The History and Drama of Sport's Most Challenging Event" by Martin & Glynn, Human Kinetic Press, 2000
• International Olympic Committee - 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics: http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/index_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=1936

Emil Zatopek: The Czech Locomotive in Helsinki

At the Opening Ceremony of the 1952 Summer Olympics the Olympic torch was brought into the Helsinki Olympiastadion by legendary Finnish long distance runner Paavo Nurmi, with his fellow legendary athletic compatriot Hannes Kolehmainen actually igniting the main cauldron. Each one of these so-called "Flying Finns" had excelled in distances ranging from the 5,000 metres through to the marathon. Therefore it was poetic justice in Helsinki that one of the most iconic performances in Olympic history was that given by the Czech long-distance runner Emil Zatopek. Zatopek entered these games with one gold medal; at the end of them he added three more plus perhaps more importantly showed the spirit and honour of a truly Olympic champion.

Emil Zatopek was born in Kopřivnice, Czechoslovakia on September 19, 1922 and didn't start running competitively until the age of 19, when he (reluctantly) ran in a race sponsored by the shoe factory in which he worked. His second place encouraged him and a local athletics club to make further efforts in developing his running, and by 1943 he held the Czech 1500 metres record. By the age of 22 he had broken the Czech national records for the 2000 metres, 3000 metres and 5000 metres and then at the end of World War Two he was drafted into the army where he was given the opportunity to concentrate on his running. With no coach he developed his own system of interval training, influenced by the great Paavo Nurmi and the Swede Arne Andersson. Running alone in every weather type, on athletic tracks or cross country he went to the 1948 Olympics as an entrant in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. He ended the first Olympics after the Second World War with a gold in the 10,000 metres and a silver in the 5000 metres, winning fame and respect for his efforts. It was in Wembley Stadium at the 1948 London Olympics that the world first heard an Olympic crowd chant 'Zat-o-pek, Zat-o-pek!" as the anguished face of the Czech runner circled round the athletics track.

Whilst the medals he won in 1948 were brilliant achievements for the Czech lieutenant, it was four years later when Zatopek emerged from mere greatness into Olympic legend status. Between the London and Helsinki Olympics Zatopek won 38 10,000 metres races plus every 5000 metres event he entered. In 1951 after a delayed start to his season due to a skiing accident he broke the world record in the one hour event, breaking the 20 kilometre barrier. He held the world record over 10,000 metres (29 minutes 2.6 seconds) and was undoubtedly the favourite for Helsinki in this distance. On a personal note he had also married Czech javelin thrower Dana Ingrová after the 1948 Summer Olympics, and both Zatopeks were going to Helsinki hoping to bring back gold for Czechoslavakia.

The first event for Zatopek in Helsinki was the 10,000 metres. Held on the first day of the athletics program there were 33 competitors from 21 countries. Zatopek was the world record holder and favourite, however Gordon Pirie (GBR), Aleksandr Anufriev (URS) and the so-called "Zatopek's Sahdow' Alain Mimoun (FRA) were credible opponents. Aamzingly the night before the gold medal race an Australian journalist entered Zatopek's room around midnight; instead of being hustled out by a reasonably angry Zatopek, the Czech champion calmly and with great dignity was interviewed by the journalist for twenty minutes. When Zatopek discovered the reporter had no bed for the night he offered to share his room with the Australian. The next day after one lap the Australian Les Parry had the lead in the 10,000 metres, but this evaporated when the Soviet Anufriev took over. If Zatopek was wearied by the previous night's activities he failed to show it. With 2000 metres completed Zatopek too the lead and was never headed. Mimoun stayed true to his nickname and up until the 8000 metres mark was running a strong second. Yet Zatopek surged away at that point, completing the last five laps well in front and raced to cross the finish line first. The gap between him and Mimoun the silver medallist was over 15 seconds or about 90 metres, with Anufriev third. Zatopek had won his second gold medal in his career and successfully defended his 10,000 metres title from London. It was also the first in his Helsinki saga which made Emil Zatopek a legend.

When asked if he would compete in the 5000 metres Zatopek replied "The marathon contest won't be for a long time yet, so I must simply do something until then." This self-deprecating reply and his behaviour in his heat of the 5000 metres belied his ability and desire to win the event he had come second in four years earlier. Two days after his 10,000 metres gold Zatopek lined up for his qualifying heat relaxed and keeping in mind the first five from each of the three heats would progress on the next day's final. Chatting with his competitors as he ran Zatopek finished in third with Anufriev winning the heat. Zatopek demonstrated his immense personal friendliness after the race bu presenting the fourth place runner Les Perry his training suit.

Going into the final on July 24th 1952 Zatopek was again to race Mimoun, Anufriev, Pirie and Perry from the 10,000 metres, plus fancied German runner Herbert Schade and Pirie's compatriot Chris Chataway. Zatopek tried to advise Schadeon the starting line how the German could approach the final, however Schade failed to appreciate this help to his later regret. With about a lap and a half to go a group of six runners were poised for the final surge. Zatopek, Pirie, Chataway, Mimoun, Schade and the 1948 gold medallist, Belgian Gaston Reiff. Reiff dropped out, unexpectedly leaving the track. Then Pirie fell behind, and as the bell lap began the red shirted figure of Zatopek was in front of his three main rivals.

His face contorted in rictures of agony (later saying "I was not talented enough to run and smile at the same time.") Zatopek surprisingly lost the lead in the back straight. With 300 metres to go and the crowd yelling "Zat-o-pek!" the Czech runner was in fourth and now out of the medals. Then coming into the final curve Zatopek surged, showing his unique ability to time his pace at the most effective time. Passing Mimoun, Schade and Chataway Zatopek hit the lead. Chataway clipped the concrete bordering the inner track and tripped, effectively ending his race. Meanwhile Mimoun and Schade faded, and as the finish line came closer it was Zatopek first and the Frenchman and German fighting for the minor medals. Mimoun was running the race of his life but his nickname of 'Zatopek's Shadow' struck again; the gold went to the Czech now-triple gold medallist and Mimoun took his third silver behind Zatopek. Schade took bronze and Pirie passed his British team mate Chataway to come fourth. Zatopek had won a remarkable long distance double at the Summer Olympics; the last time anyone had won both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres golds at the same games was at Stockholm in 1912, when Helsinki cauldron-lighter Hannes Kolehmainen had taken the golds in the two longest track races.

Later that same day Dana Zatopek won the gold medal in the women's javelin. It was a golden day for Czechoslavakia and the Zatopeks and when Emil was asked if he would try to win the marathon he replied:

"At present the score of the contest in the Zatopek family is 2-1. This result is too close. To restore some prestige I will try to improve on it - in the marathon race."

That chance came three days after the 5000 metres final. Zatopek had never run a competitive marathon before, and the favourite was British runner Jim Peters. Peters paradoxically owed his status in the marathon after taking to the event when he was beaten by Zatopek in the 1948 London final of the 10,000 metres. With a recent time of 2 hours 20 minutes and 42 seconds the British runner had established a time about five minutes better than all his prospective competitors in Helsinki. This included the marathon virgin, Emil Zatopek.

At the start Zatopek sought out Jim Peters, looking to the favourite to help him pace the longest event for male athletes at the Helsinki Olympics. Looking for Peter's number (187) the Czech marathon debutant found the British world record holder and asked "Hello are you Peters?" Jim Peters said yes and Zatopek then said "I am Emil Zatopek from Czechoslovakia, I am very pleased to see you." The fastest man over the marathon distance and the man who had already won two gold medals in Helsinki then set themselves for the climax of their relative Olympic careers.

From the beginning Peters set a fast pace, with the first five kilometres completed in 15 minutes 43 seconds, then the 10 kilometre mark was passed in 31 minutes 55 seconds. Zatopek and Swedish runner Gustaf Janssen challenged Peters after the 15 kilometre mark and it was then Zatopek asked Peters "Jim, the pace. Is it good enough?" Peters replied "Pace too slow", even though he was feeling the effects of his efforts so far. Zatopek considered this reply and then said "You say too slow. Are you sure the pace is too slow?" Peters again said yes, at which point Zatopek shrugged his shoulders, before making his move. Then Zatopek made his move nearing the 20 kilometres. Jansson followed with Peters falling behind, so that with roughly half the race marathon to go Zatopek and the Swede were equal first (1.04.27) and Peters third (1.04.37). Jansson took a slice of lemon at a feed station and Zatopek noted this, thinking that as the Swede was running well when the Czech came to the next feed station Zatopek would take two lemons. Meanwhile Peters was fading fast, and at the turn for the last half of the marathon Zatopek grabbed the lead, without taking any lemons to suck. Jansson faded as well and by the 35 kilometre point he was over a minute behind Zatopek. Peters had collapsed exhausted after 32 kilometres, so he was no longer a threat. The Argentinian Reinaldo Gorno improved his position from fourth after 30 kilometres so that by 40 kilometres he was second behind Zatopek, with Jansson third. The incredible strength and ability of Emil Zatopek was about to bring him the amazing troika of gold medals at the one Olympics; 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon.

The Helsinki Olympiastadion rang once last time with the chant 'Zat-o-pek! Zat-o-pek!' as their hero ran the last lap of the marathon. The gap between gold and silver ended up to be over two and a half minutes, with Zatopek crossing the line in 2 hours 23 minutes and 3.2 seconds. The Jamaican 4x100 metres realy team hoisted Zatopek on their shoulders chairing him around as the ecstatic crowd gave him a standing ovation. Then as Gorno crossed for his silver medal Zatopek came over to the Argentinian, greeting him with a slice of orange, with Jansson collecting the bronze. After his victory Zatopek said:

"I was unable to walk for a whole week after that (the marathon), so much did the race take out of me. But it was the most pleasant exhaustion I have ever known."

So it was when the Helsinki Olympics finished the most renowned athlete from any nation was the Czech Emil Zatopek, increasing his career Olympic medal tally to 4 golds and one silver. Greatly loved by his competitors as well, the quality of Zatopek not just as an Olympian but as a man was shown not just by his victories in Helsinki, but also by the way he went about securing them. Finally, with one last generous act Emil Zatopek soared further into the stratosphere of Olympic legends. In 1968 Australian 10,000 metre world record holder Ron Clarke met with Zatopek after the Mexico City Olympics. On the point of leaving Prague after his visit, Clarke was walked through customs by Zatopek. Shaking hands in a final farewell Zatopek passed a small package to the Australian, which Clarke took unopened onto his flight. Worried that he was carried some smuggled information from Zatopek (who signed the manifesto supporting the so-called "Prague Spring" of 1968), Clarke only opened his package when the flight was well outside Czechoslovakian airspace. Inside was Zatopek's 10,000 metres gold medal from Helsinki. With this act of true sporting friendship Emil Zatopek's words to Ron Clarke as he had got on the plane made sense to the Australian; "Because you deserved it". If anyone can be said to have received the gift of Olympic greatness, then it must be Emil Zatopek. Because he too deserves it.

Sources

• "The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition" by David Wallechinsky, Aurum Press, 2008
• "The Official Report of the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics" (available online at http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1952/OR1952.pdf )
• "The Olympic Series: Supreme Achievements" (Video), Twentieth Century Fox, 2003
• Wikipedia - Emil Zatopek Biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Z%C3%A1topek
• Official Web Site of the 2008 Beijing Olympics: http://en.beijing2008.cn/video/historyv/helsinki1952/
• "Running Through the Ages" by Edward Sears, McFarland, 1991

Gaby Andersen-Scheiss: Staggering Into History

Up until 1984 and the games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad the iconic event of the marathon had been limited to male participation only. There had been one unoffical female runner in the very first modern Olympic marathon in Athens 1896. Greek woman Stamata Revithi was not allowed to compete by the commission in charge of entries, and so her time of approximately five and half hours (slowed by a period watching ships at the Piraeus docks) was completely unofficial (plus run a day after the actual men's event). It took 88 years before the IAAF and the IOC allowed female athletes to compete in an official Olympic marathon, and the usually smog and car-bound streets of Los Angeles were to serve as the backdrop for the debut of this most torturous of athletic events.

Before the Los Angeles 1984 games there was the usual political problems of the era, with Western and Eastern bloc countries manoeuvering for political and therefore Olympic supremacy. On May 8th 1984 the USSR announced it would not be attending the LA Olympics, citing "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States". Although this pretext was the official reason for the Soviet led boycott (which eventually encompassed 14 Communist countries), the most popular and reasonable assumption was this was a 'revenge' boycott, paying back the US and her supporters who had staged the Moscow 1980 boycott. In some sports and in some events this meant there was going to be a paucity of world record holders or world champions. Swimming and weightlifting for example were dramatically thinned of world ranked entrants. However the women's marathon was not as drastically effected.

Coming into the LA 1984 Olympics the two lead contenders for debut women's marathon gold were Greta Waitz (Norway), the then current world champion and Joan Benoit (USA), world record holder. Benoit had been beaten by Waitz over various distances 10 out of 11 times, and had undergone knee surgery 17 days before the US Olympic trials. Yet there was the indefinable factor of Benoit running in a hometown Olympics, with the undoubtedly major assistance of fanatically patriotic American fans. Other less favoured chances for gold were Waitz's fellow Norwegian Ingrid Kristiansen, the Portuguese runner Rosa Mota and Laura Fogli (Italy).

On the day of the event, the Los Angeles sky was clear, blue and relatively free of the smog that had been a constant threat before the actual games themselves. Fifty entrants lined up for the start at the Los Angeles Colisseum, main stadium for both the 1984 Olympics as well as the 1932 Summer Games. Amongst the competitors was one sole Swiss female runner; Gaby Andersen-Scheiss. A dual US/Swiss citizen and Idaho ski instructor, she was unheralded as a gold medal threat contrasted with Benoit and Waitz. However in a little under three hours later her efforts to reach the finish line, again in the LA Colisseum left a far more indelible image on Olympic history than the eventual medallists.

Benoit took an early lead, with a six second gap between her and the next best runners opening at the 5 km mark. By the 15 km mark this had widened to 51 seconds, with the white capped Benot striding away from Waitz, Lorraine Moller (NZL), Lisa Martin (AUS), Sylvie Ruegger (CAN), Priscilla Welch (GBR), lngrid Kristiansen (NOR), and Rosa Mota (POR). Waitz was expecting Benoit's physical condition to deteriorate as the marathon lengthened, which didn't happen. After 25 kilometres Benoit had added another minute on top of her 51 seconds lead. Andersen-Scheiss on the other hand was well back in the pack. The Swiss runner was not in the hunt for Olympic gold, but like so many Olympians before and after her it was not the winning which mattered; it was the completing her own personal goal of finishing the marathon.

Back at the front of the pack, Benoit lost some time to Waitz coming closer to the Colisseum. However she wasn't to be headed, and whilst the Norwegian got within 400 metres the American was able to finish the marathon in 2 hours 24 minutes 23 seconds, 86 seconds inf ront of the world champion. Rosa Mota who would four years later win gold in this same event at Seoul followed Waitz over the line by 39 seconds, winning bronze. Ingrid Kristiansen was fourth, Lorraine Moller fifth and Priscilla Welch sixth. Remarkably Joyce Smith (GBR) came in eleventh; a 46 year old, she was the oldest competitor in either the men's or women's track and field program at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

As Benoit relaxed from her gold medal winning efforts, mingling with the crowd and searching for stamps for her collection, the rest of the field gradually came in. Then roughly 24 minutes after Benoit had entered the final lap the Swiss runner Andersen-Scheiss staggered into the tunnel leading to the main stadium's track. Cap in hand and drenched in perspiration she began a painfully cruel yet truly Olympic final 400 metres, cheered by the crowds as she lurched towards the finish line.

With the final straight and finish line ahead she kept slowly limping on, her white cap back shading her drawn and anguished face. Officials beside the track stood back as doctors observed her sweating, noting she wasn't actually in heat stroke. In 1908 a similar scene had played out when Dorando Pietri from Italy staggered over the line of the first London Olympic marathon, but his efforts had been left unrewarded because he received assistance. This time there was to be no helping hands to carry the brave Swiss runner over the line. Waving away offers of assistance Andersen-Scheiss wavered from one lane to the next, veering close to the orange cones marking the outer side of the race track, then almost hunched over veering back again to the inner side. The distance narrowed, five metres...four...three..two...then with a final stagger into lane two she crossed the finish line, to be greeted by first one then three white uniformed Olympic officials. In coming 37th Gaby Andersen-Scheiss had not won any medal, but she had conquered the 42,195 metres of the first women's Olympic marathon. Plus she had marked this particularly event for history with her brave efforts to not just start but also to finish the race.

As the women's marathon closed and the last of the runners was brought back to the athlete's village, Andersen-Scheiss accepted medical assistance. Amazingly after two hours she was back in the Olympic Village as well, eating and recuperating. Ten hours later she was interviewed on television. It was a welcome physical achievement considering how tortured she had appeared as she had finished the marathon. Long term, not only did she arguably define the agonies and the challenges for the marathon runner in the Olympics, no matter the gender, she also made the International Amateur Athletic Federation revise their rules for the marathon, making medical assistance available to those runners during the event without fear of disqualification. Gaby Andersen-Scheiss had demonstrated the most enviable of attributes displayed by an Olympian; the will to meet a challenge and complete it, no matter the result.



Sources:

• "The Complete Book of the Olympics" by David Wallechinsky, Aurum Press 2004
• "The Official Report fo the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics: Volume II" (available online at http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1984/1984v2pt2.pdf)
• Wikipedia: 1984 Summer Olympic Boycott (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet-led_boycott_of_the_1984_Summer_Olympics)
• Wikipedia: Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss Biography (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriela_Andersen-Schiess)
• IOC Official Biography: Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss: (http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/profiles/bio_uk.asp?PAR_I_ID=30369)
• The Official Film of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics