Japan at the 1928 Summer Olympics the first time included a woman (Kinue Hitomi). For the 1928 Olympics, Japan fielded 43 athletes. Japan at the 1928 Summer Olympics The Empire of Japan competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Japan Amateur Athletic Federation ("Nihon Rikujo Kyogi Renmei"), founded in 1925, officially took over sponsorship of the Japanese Olympic team from the Japan Amateur Athletic Association in 1928. Japanese government sponsorship of the Olympic effort continued, both financially, and through expansion of the annual Meiji Shrine Games to include a wider variety of sports, including archery, basketball, field hockey, rowing, table tennis, volleyball and
Summer Olympic Games 1906 Athens games were the first of an alternating series of games to be held in Athens, but the series failed to materialise. The games were more successful than the 1900 and 1904 games, with over 900 athletes competing, and contributed positively to the success of future games. The 1908 London Games saw numbers rise again, as well as the first running of the marathon over its now-standard distance of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). The first Olympic Marathon in 1896 (a male-only race) was raced at a distance of 40 km (24 miles 85 yards). The new marathon