Jan Mashiani

Jan Mashiani
Mashiani in 1904
Sport
CountryTransvaal Colony
SportTrack and field
Event
Marathon

Jan Mashiani was a Tswana track and field athlete from the Transvaal Colony who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics in the marathon. He finished thirteenth of the fifteen finishers, but moved up to twelfth after Frederick Lorz was disqualified. Along with Len Taunyane, Mashiani was one of the first two black people to participate in the modern Olympic Games. He was chased off the course of the 1904 marathon by a dog, affecting his placement. Mashiani served as a dispatch runner in the Second Boer War, although there are conflicting reports on which side he served.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "How the 1904 Marathon Became One of the Weirdest Olympic Events of All Time". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Jan Mashiani". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 O'Toole, Sean. "The Athletes". CityScapes. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Story of South Africa's first black Olympians keeps us guessing". The Mail & Guardian. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2025.