South African athletes Len Taunyane and Jan Mashiani were the first Africans to participate in the Olympic Games.
The duo took part in the 1904 Olympic Games staged at the University of Washington, in St. Louis, United States.
Mashiani and Taunyane made the decision to take part in the games at the eleventh hour since they had traveled to the United States on entirely different plans.
They were supposed to grace the Boer War Exhibition which was postponed due to disagreements between the organizers and the Transvaal Farmer's Association.
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Although their presence was ignored by the organizers, they went on to perform better than expected.
The two runners who ran barefoot in unfavorable conditions, registered a 9th and 12th place finish with Taunyane outpacing his compatriot.
This was a big achievement then since very few athletes were able to complete the marathon - only 14 out of the 32 participants finished the race.
The course was so dusty then that it caused some of the competitors to collapse.
Mashiani could have registered an impressive performance had he not been chased away from the course by aggressive dogs.
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Their achievement laid the foundation for more Africans to participate and dominate the marathon in Olympic Games.
Some of the Africans who have previously won the Olympic Games marathon title include the Ethiopian duo of Fatuma Roba and Abebe Bikila, South Africa’s Josia Thugwabe and Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge.
It took more than 60 years since their debut for Kenya to field representatives in the Olympic Games. Kenya made its maiden appearance at the 1968 Olympic Games held at Estadio Olímpico Universitario, in Mexico.
Some of the athletes who represented Kenya in Mexico were Kipchoge Keino, Naftali Temu, and Amos Biwott.
Each of the trio won gold medals in the disciplines that they participated in, with Biwott starting Kenya’s dominance in the 3,000m steeplechase race.
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