The postponement to autumn, the debut of judo and volleyball, Latynina's record: what are the memories of the Olympic Games in Tokyo 1964

The 1964 Summer Olympics were the first in history to be held in Asia. Tokyo could have hosted major sporting events much earlier, back in 1940, but the Sino-Japanese War prevented. Because of her, the Japanese government abandoned the organization, although the International Olympic Committee hoped to the last that peace would be achieved and the Olympic flame would reach the Land of the Rising Sun.

As a result, this happened only 24 years later, after Japan's defeat in World War II. The Olympics have become an important event for the country, designed to demonstrate its post-war reconstruction and tremendous technological progress. Especially for the Games, the first line of the Shinkansen, a high-speed railway, was laid between Tokyo and Osaka. Also, color TV broadcasts were established for the home audience. The onset of a new era was symbolized by the student Yoshinori Sakai, who was born in Nagasaki on the day of the atomic bombing. He lit the Olympic flame in the main stadium, although this honor is usually given to future competitors.

The Tokyo Olympics should be called autumn, not summer. Four years earlier in Rome, athletes suffered from the heat of August, and then the next Games were decided to be held in October in order to avoid the intense Japanese heat and the September typhoon season. Although the climate hasn't changed much since then, the 2021 Olympics will be held at the usual summer time.

57 years ago, new sports were actively appearing at the Olympics. The program included volleyball and judo, without which it is already difficult to imagine modern competitions. Their inclusion was largely determined by the popularity in Japan itself - for the same reason, medals in karate will be raffled at the next Games. The hopes of fans that new sports will bring gold to the country have largely come true. In judo, the hosts won three out of four possible victories - their only defeat was in the open weight, where the gold was won by the great Dutch judoka Anton Gesink.

The Japanese also won the women's volleyball tournament, the first time in history that girls competed for medals in a team sport at the Olympics. The athletes devoted themselves to preparing for the competition without a trace, and after the Games, captain Masae Kasai even complained to Prime Minister Eisak Sato that she could not find a husband due to training. The politician arranged a date for her with former officer Kazuo Nakamura, which ultimately led to the wedding. And the first men's volleyball tournament was won by the USSR national team, which by that time had already four victories at the world championships.

The most titled athlete of the Tokyo Olympics was the American Don Schollander. He was the first in the history of swimming to win four gold medals in the same competition - in the 100 and 400 meter freestyle, as well as in two freestyle relay races. At the same time, the program did not include a distance of 200 meters, at which Schollander held a world record, and for no apparent reason he was not included in the combined relay race, where the victory was also for the Americans.

Taking into account the previous Olympics, the Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina became the record holder for the number of titles and won medals for many decades to come.

In her collection there were already seven gold, three silver and two bronze awards.

In Tokyo, the 29-year-old gymnast won two more medals of each value.

Latynina's 18 medals remained the highest achievement in Olympic history until he was beaten by American swimmer Michael Phelps in 2012, who amassed 28 awards by the end of his career.

Latynina won victories in floor exercises and in team all-around at the third Olympics in a row.

The same success was achieved by the Soviet rower Vyacheslav Ivanov.

He won the third consecutive gold in the singles competition.

In the future, the Finn Pertti Karppinen achieved the same, but his performances fell on the era of the boycott of the Games in Moscow and Los Angeles.

The third victory in a row was also won by the Australian swimmer Don Fraser, who competed in the 100m freestyle swimming. But in Tokyo, she was noted not only for sports success. One night, she, along with the field hockey players, celebrated their first bronze medals. They got the idea to get hold of the Australian flag, and they found it on the boulevard leading to the imperial palace. The athletes climbed to the top of the flagpole and stole the banner, after which the police whistle immediately sounded. Fraser was caught and taken to the police station, but when it turned out that one of the heroines of the Olympics was detained, she was released, and the stolen flag was presented as a souvenir.

Ethiopian Abebe Bikila made history by becoming the first to win two Olympic marathons in a row.

In 1960, he amazed the whole world when, barefoot, he ran first to the finish line.

In Tokyo, he already used sports shoes and confidently won again, and again breaking the world record.

Among the participants in the marathon was an athlete who became the main discovery of this Olympics.

American military Billy Mills was not a professional athlete, but was able to qualify for the US national team at a distance of 10,000 meters.

He was completely unknown not only to the fans, but also to other runners, among whom the world record holder from Australia, Ron Clarke, stood out.

It was he who confidently led the race, but at the finish line, Mills undertook a crazy acceleration, which brought him a sensational victory.

The Olympic Games in Tokyo ended with the victory of the US national team in the overall standings - American athletes won 36 gold, 26 silver and 28 bronze medals. But the USSR team, which won 30 victories, had six more medals in total. For the first time in their history, the Japanese climbed to third place and were able to repeat this result only once in history after four years in Mexico City.