Keizo Yamada

Keizo Yamada served with the Japanese army in Manchuria during World War II, volunteering at the age of 15. During that time, he took up long distance running and eventually worked his way up to marathon distances. He ran his first marathon in 1949 and, by 1952, was good enough to be selected to represent Japan in that event at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he finished 26th, one place behind his compatriot Katsuo Nishida. Yamada’s greatest success came a year later, when he won the Boston Marathon in record time, and was ranked #2 in the world behind Jim Peters of Great Britain, who had won the Polytechnic Marathon that year in the first sub-2-20 time for that race. In 1954, a movie was made in Japan celebrating his success.

Yamada went on to win the Fukuoka Marathon in 1956, as well as that year’s Asahi marathon. To solidify 1956 as the pinnacle of his career, he also became Japanese national champion. He continued running into his 80s, however, and won four consecutive titles in the 70+ age group from 1998 through 2001 at the Boston Marathon. He did not retire fully until 2009, having run over 150 marathons. By career he worked for the Fujita Tourist Company in Kawasaki.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-18:51 (1953).