History
GalleryFrom the archives, 1960: Young athletes compete in Junior Olympics at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan
Stars and Stripes
April 16, 2024
Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, Oct. 22, 1960: Standard of Athens leads Junior Olympic paraders at Tachi West Track at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 22, 1960. Behind these athletes are competitors from teams named for Argos, Corinth, Thebes, Sparta and other ancient Greek cities. (Gene Willard/Stars and Stripes)
Seven sixth grade classes from the Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, Dependent Elementary School got together at the Tachikawa West Track Saturday, Oct. 22, 1960, for the Junior Olympics, their own version of the athletic classic.
Boys and girls on the teams ran the gamut of competitive skills in the big global event, including shot-putting, broad jumping and relay races.
The 1960 Junior Olympics began when student Tom Mulky, acting as the Olympic flame runner, touched his torch to the fire pot that burned throughout the competition. The teams were named after the seven cities of ancient Greece — Corinth, Olympia, Argos, Thebes, Sparta, Marathon and Athens.
Pictured here are scans of the original 1960 prints created by Stars and Stripes Pacific’s photo department to run in the print newspaper. The red marks indicate the crop lines. Only the middle part of the image would appear in the newspaper. As the vast majority of pre-1964 Stars and Stripes Pacific negatives and slides were unwittingly destroyed by poor temporary storage in 1963, the prints developed from the late 1940s through 1963 are often the only images left of Stripes’ news photography from those decades. Stars and Stripes’ archives team is scanning these prints to ensure their preservation.
Susan Bash, 11, leaps in the running broad jump event as parents, teammates and other competitors look on. Seven sixth grade classes from the Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, Dependent Elementary School got together at the Tachikawa West Track for the Junior Olympics. Boys and girls on the teams ran the gamut of competitive skills in the big global event, including shot-putting, broad jumping and relay races. (Gene Willard/Stars and Stripes)
Torch bearer Tom Mulky lights the flame at the Junior Olympic Games. Seven sixth grade classes from the Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, Dependent Elementary School got together at the Tachikawa West Track Oct. 22, 1960, for their own version of the athletic classic. (Gene Willard/Stars and Stripes)
A runner waits for the baton in the 400-meter relay race. The racers were exerting their all on the third leg of the race. (Gene Willard/Stars and Stripes)
Keeping her balance, Michiko Myers lands after her effort in the running broad jump. Myers participated in the Junior Olympics, part of the Narimasu Elementary School, Grant Heights’ physical fitness program. Sixth graders who had just finished studying in Greece — the nation where the Olympic Games originated — staged an Olympics of their own. (Gary Berry/Stars and Stripes)
Narimasu Elementary School students Fred Snead (left) and Gary Martin wrestle on the mat in a judo match, part of the school’s Junior Olympics. The school’s sixth graders who had just finished studying in Greece — the nation where the Olympic Games originated — staged an Olympics of their own. Snead won the bout and the judo title at the Junior Olympics. (Gary Berry/Stars and Stripes)
George Silver lifts the weights high above his head in the Junior Olympics, part of the Narimasu Elementary School, Grant Heights’ physical fitness program. Events included wrestling, volleyball, sumo, softball throwing and dashes. Silver would go on to win the weightlifting competition. (Gary Berry/Stars and Stripes)
Wilson Lusk easily clears the 4-foot hurdle in the high jump competition at the Narimasu Elementary School Junior Olympics. Some 156 students participated in the events viewed by about 600 spectators. (Gary Berry/Stars and Stripes)