Olympic Series

Olympic Games – 1964 Tokyo

Nineteen years after hundreds of thousands had died, Emperor Hirohito of Japan had surrendered and sixty percent of Tokyo was destroyed; that Yoshinori Sakai, an athlete born not far from Hiroshima on 06 August 1945 put the torch to the Olympic Flame. Now in 1964, Japan had put its past behind it and the country was no more bellicose. It had rebuilt, and was back on its feet. It spent lavishly on the Games: a sum of two billion dollars, a colossal sum. The organization was flawless in every aspect and the first television broadcasts via satellite assured a global public.

The Games were a convincing display of Japanese efficiency, but lacked emotion: the public was calm, polite, respectful and disciplined, but to the Western eyes seeing Asia for the first time, seemed cold. It may be easier to forget the catastrophes of recent history than to change the intimate habits of centuries of tradition. Nonetheless, tensions persisted between China and the USSR, the United States and Cuba, and in Vietnam. During the Games, China, a conspicuous absentee, conducted its first nuclear tests.

Geesink Puts Japan In Shock

Antonius Geesink, a judo instructor from Utrecht, Holland reduced Japan to tears by immobilizing Akio Kaminaga in the open division. Kaminaga had the look of a trout, exhausted by its own efforts. Geesink, his 253 pounds comfortably installed on Kaminaga’s broad chest, his butcher’s arms firmly around his rival’s neck, having passed one of them under the shoulder of the Japanese, looked his rival ferociously in the eyes. He could have spent the whole evening in this position. It was over before the bell announced the end, and for Japan, watching on television, it was a moment of terrible anguish. Students wept in the restaurant, their hopes shattered with one blow. Japan’s total judo supremacy had been surrendered to a Westerner. The cameras, aimed at the Tatami – the rectangular matting – didn’t allow viewer’s to decipher Geesink’s outstretched arm during the bout. He was pointing towards the Japanese coach Matsumoto, who had been crouching at the edge of the Tatami yelling advice at Kaminaga. The gesture astonished the referee, who hadn’t even noticed. He sent the Japanese eighth dan to his chair in a state of confusion.

Dawn Fraser, Wayward Genius

No author would have dared dream up such a heroine for a piece of fiction. Nothing seemed to stop her. Neither convention nor criticism could deter her from fulfilling the destiny of her extravagant gifts in the water. It is almost as if she deliberately sought obstacles to overcome to enhance her unique achievements. She was the first woman to swim 100 meters and break the one-minute barrier with 59.9 secs in Oct 1962. She had won gold medals in Melbourne, Rome and Tokyo. The unprecedented third gold should have put any other news about Dawn Fraser in the shade, to wit, her secret participation in the Opening Ceremony, her outlandish shirt, her bugle calls at the edge of the pool and even a bizarre episode in which  she stole the Olympic flag flying over the Imperial Palace.

Don Schollander, The First Swimmer To Win Four Golds  

On his way to an unprecedented four Gold medals, the young American outclassed his rivals in the 100 meters, freestyle. Schollander won in the 100, 400, 4x100 and 4x200 meters thus becoming the first swimmer to win four medals in one Olympic Games.

The Fastest Man In The World

The American Bob Hayes became the fastest athlete in the Games with a wind assisted 9.9 secs world record. In the finals, Hayes took on Cuba’s Enrique Figuerola. A dense matrix of politics underlay the encounter, although no – one in the stadium cared for anything but the individuals on the blocks. It was only after the race that the search for some encrypted meaning began. It emerged in the warm, sincere handshake between the American and the Cuban, a rare event those days. It was a wonderful moment which left all believing, just for a while, that sport really can bring people together.

Peter Snell Overcomes His Fear Of Defeat

Snell, who was the 800 meters champion four years ago in Rome, retained that and added the 1500 meters title to it. When the officials were looking for Peter to award him his second Gold medal, they panicked. For, he had taken refuge with his wife Sally, behind a wall, at the exit of the changing room and was embracing her tenderly. He was finally located and on approaching the victory stand he said that he was tired, very tired.

Bikila Rises Through The Ranks

Once again, the slender figure of Abebe Bikila delighted the spectators by the purity of his style and the remarkable radiance he emanated, being a thoroughbred. He was four years older than he was in Rome, approaching 32 years. He won in 2:15:16.2 secs in 1960 and this time he achieved 2:12:11.2 secs, to become the first marathon runner to keep his title.

India regained the Hockey Gold which it had lost to Pakistan in Rome.

Valery Brumel the world record holder with 2.28 meters, went one better. Although a magnificent technician, Brumel failed his first two attempts at 2.03 meters, a height normally well within him. He cleared it at the last attempt. Then his form returned and he jumped better. His strongest rival John Thomas, who also cleared 2.18 meters, lost out on the number of failed attempts and Valery the master of the roll, won the Gold.

The Games In Brief

Opening Ceremony                                 10 Oct 1964

Closing Ceremony                                  24 Oct 1964

Host Nation                                             Japan

Nations Represented                              94 Nations

Athletes                                                   5,140 (683 women, 4,457 men)

Sports                                                      19

Events                                                     163 (33 open to women)

Games Officially Opened By                 Emperor Hirohito

Olympic Flame Lit By                           Yoshinori Sakai

                                                                (Born in Hiroshima on 06 Aug 1945)

Olympic Oath By                                    Takashi Ono (Gymnastics)

IOC President                                         Avery Brundage (USA)

The Tokyo Games were the first to be held in Asia. The most touching symbol of the Games was the final torchbearer, Yoshinori Sakai; born in Hiroshima on the day the atomic bomb exploded over the city, he was chosen in honor of the victims. Two new sports, judo and volleyball (both men’s and women’s), were included in Tokyo. In another first, competitors in the Pole Vault used fiberglass poles. Tokyo was the last Games in which athletics events were run on a cinder track.

The first ‘Fair Play’ prize was awarded by the IOC to the Kali brothers of Sweden who, during a regatta, gave up their chance of victory to help two fellow competitors who had capsized.

PS -: Matter researched from the archives in the Olympic Games museum in Lausanne.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

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