August 31, 1904 - Tswana tribesmen Jan Mashiani and Len Taunyane return to Africa after running the Olympic marathon

Today is Sunday, August 31st, 2025, and on this day in 1904, Tswana tribesmen Jan Mashiani and Len Taunyane departed St Louis after having competed in the Olympic Marathon the previous day.

In this episode, we’ll learn more about how Mashiani and Taunyane became the first Black athletes of any country to compete in the Games, what obstacles they overcame along the way, and why so much of their story remains shrouded in mystery.

Bibliography:

• https://theconversation.com/who-were-the-first-africans-at-the-olympics-the-disturbing-story-of-two-1904-marathon-runners-234429


• https://www.britannica.com/topic/worlds-fair


• https://travelnoire.com/first-indigenous-africans-olympic-games


• https://isoh.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/5.pdf


• https://obs.org.za/who-were-the-first-africans-at-the-olympics-the-disturbing-story-of-two-1904-marathon-runners/


• https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-07-26-who-were-the-first-africans-at-the-olympics-the-disturbing-story-of-two-1904-marathon-runners/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=first_thing


• https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/75271


• https://runnersguide.blog/2021/12/02/thanks-to-the-boer-war-we-ran-in-the-olympics/