Yahiko Mishima
Yahiko Mishima at the 1912 Olympics
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 三島 弥彦 |
| Nationality | Japan |
| Born |
February 23, 1886 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | February 1, 1954 (aged 67). Meguro, Tokyo, Japan |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Sprint |
| Retired | 1920 |
Yahiko Mishima (三島 弥彦? Mishima Yahiko, February 23, 1886 – February 1, 1954) was a Japanese track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Together with the marathon runner Shizo Kanakuri he was the first ever Olympic competitor for Japan.
Mishima was the son of Viscount Mishima Michitsune, an important official in the Meiji government of Japan. His elder brother, Yatarō Mishima was the 8th governor of the Bank of Japan. Mishima’s father died when he was two years old. He attended the Gakushuin Peer’s School, followed by Tokyo Imperial University, where he majored in law. However, Mishima’s talents lay in sports, and he was active in college baseball, judo, horseback riding, boating, sumo, and skating, participating in numerous competitions. His height of 170-cm gave him an advantage at a time when the average Japanese men’s height was around 150-cm. During the domestic qualifying trials for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics held at what later became Haneda Airport, Mishima was initially selected to be part of the referee committee, but decided to participate in the event as a contestant instead, taking first place in the 100, 400 and 800 meter races, and placed second in the 200 meter race. Although a number of qualifying events had taken placed, support for the Olympics was not forthcoming from the Japanese Ministry of Education, and the budget was limited to sending only two athletes to Stockholm. Mishima and long-distance runner Shizo Kanakuri were the two selected, and travelled to Stockholm over the Trans-Siberian Railway.
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