Kōkichi Tsuburaya

Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Bronze	1964 Tokyo	Marathon

Kōkichi Tsuburaya (円谷幸吉, Tsuburaya Kōkichi^?) (born Kokichi Tsumuraya (円谷幸吉, Tsumuraya Kōkichi^?); May 13, 1940 – January 9, 1968, Sukagawa, Fukushima) was a Japanese athlete who competed mainly in the Marathon. He competed for Japan in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, where he won the bronze medal, and was overtaken within the final 100 meters by Basil Heatley of the UK.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Kokichi suffered from lumbago. On January 9, 1968, he committed suicide by cutting his external carotid artery.^[1] He wrote in his suicide note, "I am too tired to run any more".

Kokichi was a 1st lieutenant in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

References

^ Larimer, Tim (October 2, 2000). "The Agony of Defeat". TIME Asia. http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/2000/1002/olympic_japan.html. Retrieved 21 April 2009.

Persondata
Name	Tsuburaya, Kokichi
Alternative names
Short description	Japanese long-distance runner
Date of birth	May 13, 1940
Place of birth	Sukagawa, Fukushima, Japan
Date of death	January 9, 1968
Place of death