Spiridon Louis - encyclopedia article about Spiridon Louis.

Men's Athletics
Olympic medalist
Spiridon Louis
Medal record
Gold	1896 Athens	Marathon

Spiridon "Spiros" Louis (Greek: Σπυρίδων Λούης; 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.

Louis was born in the town of Marousi, which is now a suburb to the north of Athens, into a poor farmer's family. His name is transcribed from the Greek in various ways; his given name is also seen as Spyridon (Spyros) and his family name as Loues. Louis's father sold mineral water in Athens, at the time devoid of a central water supply, and his son helped him by transporting it.

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.

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 Kharilaos 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.

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 historians, the public desperately hoped the Marathon would be won by one of their countrymen.

The marathon race

In Marathon, Colonel Papadiamantopoulos gave the starting signal for the small field of runners, consisting of thirteen athletes from Greece and four athletes from other nations. The early leader of the race, which led over dusty dirt roads along which throngs of Greeks had gathered to watch, was the Frenchman Albin Lermusiaux, who had earlier placed third in the final of the 1500 metres. In the town of Pikermi, Louis made a stop at a local inn to drink a glass of wine. After asking for the advantage of the other runners, he confidently declared he would overtake them all before the end.

After 32 km, Lermusiaux was exhausted, and had to abandon the race after a collapse. The lead was taken over by Teddy Flack, an Australian runner who had already been victorious in the Olympic 800 and 1500 m. Louis slowly closed in on Flack. The Australian, not used to running long distances, collapsed a few kilometers onwards, giving Louis the lead.

Meanwhile, in the stadium, the atmosphere was tense, especially after a cyclist brought the news that the Australian runner was in the lead. But another messenger was sent out by the police as soon as Louis moved into the lead, and as the word spread that it was a Greek that led the race, the cry "Hellene, Hellene!" was taken up by thousands of rapturous spectators. When Louis finally arrived in a stadium erupting with joy, two Greek princes – Crown Prince Constantine and Prince George – rushed to meet him and accompanied him on his final lap for a finishing time of 2:58:50, fuelled along the way by wine, milk, beer, an Easter egg, and some orange juice. Louis's victory set off wild celebrations, as described in the official report of the Games:

"Here the Olympic Victor was received with full honour; the King rose from his seat and congratulated him most warmly on his success. Some of the King’s aides-de-camp, and several members of the Committee went so far as to kiss and embrace the victor, who finally was carried in triumph to the retiring room under the vaulted entrance. The scene witnessed then inside the Stadion cannot be easily described, and even foreigners were carried away by the general enthusiasm."

Reportedly the King offered Louis any gift he would care to ask of him, and all Louis could think of was a donkey-drawn carriage to help him in his water-carrying business.

Adding to the celebrations, two more Greek runners entered the stadium to finish in second and third place. Third place finisher Spiridon Belokas was later found to have covered part of the course by carriage, and was disqualified, and his place was taken by the Hungarian Gyula Kellner.

After his victory, Louis received gifts from many countrymen, ranging from jewelry to a life-long free shave at the barber shop. It is unknown if Louis took all these gifts, although he did take back home the carriage he had asked of the King. He retreated to his hometown, never again competing in running. He lived a quiet life, working as a farmer, and later as a local police officer.

After the Olympics

In 1926, Louis was arrested on charges of falsifying military documents and was imprisoned. After spending more than a year in jail, he was found not guilty, and was acquitted. The affair predictably caused a press uproar.

His last public appearance came in 1936, when he was invited as a guest of honour by the organizers of the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin. After bearing the standard of the Greek team during the opening ceremonies, he was received by Adolf Hitler and offered him an olive branch from Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, as a symbol of peace.

A few weeks before the German invasion of Greece, Louis died. Many sports clubs in Greece and abroad still carry his name, as does the main stadium at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, where the 2004 Summer Olympics were held, as well as the road passing outside (Spiros Louis Avenue).

The Jayne Mansfield movie It Happened in Athens is a heavily-fictionalized take on Louis and the marathon.

Bibliography

James P. Verinis, "Spiridon Loues, the Modern Foustanéla, and the Symbolic Power of Pallikariá at the 1896 Olympic Games", Journal of Modern Greek Studies 23:1 (May 2005), pp. 139-175. MUSE (by subscription)

External links

Official Report of the 1896 Olympics (10 MB, PDF)

• • [ e] Olympic champions in men's marathon

Records
Preceded by Incumbent	Men's Marathon World Record Holder April 10, 1896 – July 24, 1908	Succeeded by Johnny Hayes

Athletics, known as Track and Field in the United States, has been contested at every Summer Olympics since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics.

Events

The events contested have varied widely.
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The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. These games were the first modern international Olympic Games to be organised by the International Olympic Committee.
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The men's marathon event was a special race invented as part of the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Michel Bréal originated the idea of a race from the city of Marathon to Athens, taking inspiration from the legend of Pheidippides.
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Greek}}}
Writing system: Greek alphabet
Official status
Official language of: Greece
Cyprus
European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
European Union
Italy
Turkey
Regulated by:
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January 12 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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1840s 1850s 1860s - 1870s - 1880s 1890s 1900s
1870 1871 1872 - 1873 - 1874 1875 1876

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March 26 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.

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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
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Motto
Ελευθερία ή θάνατος
Eleftheria i thanatos
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marathon is a long-distance running event of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards) that can be run either as a road race or off-road (for example, on mountain trails).

History

The name marathon
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Location

Coordinates Coordinates:
Time zone: EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Elevation (min-max): 70 - 338 m (0 - 0 ft)
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Olympic Games (often referred to simply as The Olympics or The Games^[1]) is an international multi-sport event subdivided into summer and winter sporting events. The summer and winter games are each held every four years (an Olympiad^[2]).
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1891 1892 1893 - 1894 - 1895 1896 1897

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Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
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marathon is a long-distance running event of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards) that can be run either as a road race or off-road (for example, on mountain trails).

History

The name marathon
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Michel Jules Alfred Bréal (March 26, 1832 - 1915), French philologist, was born at Landau in Rhenish Bavaria, of French-Jewish parents. He is often identified as a founder of modern semantics.
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Battle of Marathon, Greek Μάχη τοῡ Μαραθῶνος
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March 22 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperors.

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Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Silver 1896 Athens Marathon

Kharilaos Vasilakos (1877 - 1969) was a Greek athlete, and the first man to win a marathon race. He also won a silver metal at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.
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Dimitrios Deligiannis was a Greek athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Deligiannis was one of 17 athletes to start the marathon race. He finished sixth of the nine athletes to have completed the race.
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This article is about the day of the year. For the song by Garbage, see April Tenth.

April 10
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March 29 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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Julian calendar was a reform of the Roman calendar which was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 ab urbe condita). It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the
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Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing and jumping. The name is derived from the Greek word "athlon" meaning "contest".
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Discus is an athletic throwing event in track and field competition. The discus, the object to be thrown, is a heavy lenticular disc with a diameter of 220 mm (8.66 inches) and a weight of two kilograms (4 lb 7 oz) for the men's event, and one kg (2 lb 3 oz) for the
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Motto
"In God We Trust" (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum" ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Olympic medalist

Robert Garrett
Medal record

Men's Athletics
Gold 1896 Athens Shot put
Gold 1896 Athens Discus throw
Silver 1896 Athens High jump
Silver 1896 Athens Long jump
Bronze 1900 Paris Shot put

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