Spiridon Louis

Spiridon "Spiros" Louis (January 12, 1873 – March 26, 1940) was a Greek water-carrier who won the first modern-day Marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics, thereby becoming a national hero.

Preparation

After the decision to revive the Olympic Games in 1894, preparations were made to organise the first modern Olympics in Athens. One of the races would be the Marathon, an event which had never been held before. It had been suggested by Frenchman Michel Bréal, who was inspired by the legend of the messenger Phidippides, who had run from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce the Athenian victory in the Battle of Marathon.

Related Topics:
Olympic Games - Marathon - Michel Bréal - Phidippides - Marathon - Battle of Marathon

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The Greeks were very enthusiastic about this new event, and decided to stage qualifying races for the Greek participants. These were organised by an army colonel, Papadiamantopoulos, who had been Louis' commanding officer during his military service (1893-1895). The first qualifying race – the first ever marathon race – was held on March 22, and was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours, 18 minutes. Louis participated in the second qualifying race, two weeks later. Papadiamantopoulos, who knew Louis's running talents, had convinced him to participate, and Louis crossed the line at fifth place, behind winner Dimitrios Deligiannis.

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On April 10 (or March 29 by the Julian Calendar, then in use in Greece), the Olympic Marathon was scheduled. The Greek public had been very enthusiastic about the Games, but was disappointed in the fact that no track and field event had yet been won by a Greek competitor. The victory in the discus throw, a classical Greek event, by the American Robert Garrett had been particularly painful. Because of its close connection with Greek history, the public desperately hoped the Marathon would be won by one of their countrymen.

Related Topics:
April 10 - March 29 - Julian Calendar - Track and field - Discus throw - American - Robert Garrett

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