The Olympics were originally an all-white event until two Africans, who had no official reason to participate, were enlisted, breaking the tradition of exclusively white competitors.
The 1904 Olympics held in St Louis ,Missouri in the United States saw the attendance of the first competitors of African descent namely Jan Mashiani and Len Taunyane ,who were originally sent as spies by two independent Boer (Dutch Afrikaner) republics after the South African war.
Mashiani and Tau did not officially represent South Africa at the games as at the time it was a colony governed by Great Britain. The games were held two years after the war between Great Britain and Boer Republics, with both sides using black South Africans in various roles such as spies and messengers.
Reports indicate that they were employed by the Boers under General Piet Cronje during the South African war to spy and deliver messages, which is why they were able to maintain a fast pace for extended periods.
The St. Louis Olympics coincided with the St. Louis World’s Fair, which featured various competitions for indigenous people from different continents. The men’s dark skin led to them being categorized as part of “savage tribes,” resulting in their participation in these competitions instead of fulfilling their original missions.
The African men were in the company of a white South African runner named B.W Harris, and they found themselves participating in a bizarre array of tournaments dubbed the ‘athletic event for savages’ scheduled almost two weeks before the actual games.
Mashiani referred to as “Yamasani” by officials who could not pronounce his name) and Len Tau (referred to as “Lentauw”) participated in these events which included a deliberate stone- throwing battle, a javelin throwing competition, tree climbing, throwing the baseball, and various track and field sports including a one(1.6 kilometre) race.
A sports historian named Floris Van der Merwe found recordings detailing the men’s performance in the race.
“From the start Lentauw set a killing pace for the first lap, running like an old-time professional followed by his countryman. Despite his lead of 20 yards, he kept looking back and lost valuable ground in the process. In the stretch he was finally passed by a Syrian and an Indian,” the text read.
The 1904 Olympic marathon was a grueling 40 km race held in scorching 32°C heat, made even more challenging by dust from automobiles sharing the road. The runners began in two rows, with Harris in the front and Mashiani and Tau in the back. Harris eventually dropped out, while Tau secured 9th place and Mashiani finished 12th.
It was reported that one runner could have achieved a better result if he hadn’t been chased off course by a dog while running along a deserted stretch of the route.
Other unusual games held at the 1904 Olympics included swimming obstacle races, tug of war, hot air balloon contests, polo cycling and American croquet.
The story of Mashiani and Tau was nearly lost to history due to the Museum of Missouri Historical Society mistakenly switching their names, which led to their identities remaining unknown for years. It wasn’t until South African sports historian Van der Merwe reconstructed the details that their story was accurately retold.
