Athletics at the 1917 Far Eastern Championship Games

At the 1917 Far Eastern Championship Games, the athletics events were held in Tokyo, Japan in May. A total of eighteen events were contested in the men-only competition.[1] The javelin throw was contested for the first time and a ten mile run was included for the first and only time as the sole long-distance running event (replacing the 8-mile race held in 1915). Japan won most of the individual track medals, while China and the Philippines were the most successful in the field events section.[2]

Fortunato Catalon of the Philippines completed a sprint double in the 100-yard and 220-yard runs. Japan's Gishiro Taku completed a similar feat in the middle-distance running events. Filipino long jumper C. Cardenas was the only individual to retain their title from the 1915 Shanghai Championship Games.[2] The decathlon winner Genzaburo Noguchi of Japan went on to become the first person to represent his country in the event at the 1920 Summer Olympics.[3]