Stathis Chorafas

Bronze medal, April 11, 1896, 500 m. freestyle. Athens 1896

It was the start of today’s 400m freestyle competition. Only three athletes from two countries, Austria and Greece, participated. The weather and the course obviously did not allow for a larger participation. The victory went to Austria’s Paul Neumann with a performance of 8.12.6 and far behind were the two Greeks Antonis Pepanos from the Patras Athletics Club with 9.57.6 and Stathis Chorafas from Kefalonia. Chorafas had previously competed in the 100m freestyle. There is no achievement for Chorafas, because in the 1896 Olympics there were only two medals – silver and bronze – for the first and second in each discipline. All swimming competitions were held on the same day.

The final ranking:Neumann (Austria) 8.12.6 Pepanos (Greece) 9.57.6 Chorafas (Greece).

Bronze medal, April 11, 1896, 1200 m. free. Athens 1896

nine swimmers from four countries took part in the competition, and all of them had to face considerable obstacles, both from the cold and from the waves of the sea. The Hungarian Alfred Hajos once again showed his great talent and was really unbeatable for his opponents. He gained a safe distance from the start and was never threatened until the finish. His time was 18.22.1, about three minutes better than the performance of the second winner, the Greek Yiannis Andreou (21.03.4). Our winner was a member of the Piraeus Hiking Club. In really difficult weather conditions, Stathis Chorafas managed to finish third, although he was quite far from the first two athletes. In foreign sources, such as authors Volker Kluge and David Walesinski, Stathis Chorafas is mentioned only as a participant, but not as a third place winner. His performance also remains unknown. The final Hajos (Hungary) 18.22.1 Andreou (Greece) 21.03.4 Chorafas (Greece).

Silver medal, April 11, 1896, 100 m. freestyle. Athens 1896

It is the first swimming race in the history of the Olympic Games. The race, like all the others, took place in the sea, in the port of Zea, in Piraeus, and the Greek fans showed great interest. About 20,000 people gathered there, and long before noon, when the competitions began. The weather was far from favorable, as it was cold and there were also small waves that certainly hindered the efforts of the swimmers. A total of 10 athletes from four countries, Greece, Hungary, Germany and Austria, participated in the race. They all could swim as they wanted, there were no restrictions. The winner was Hungarian Alfred Hajos from Budapest with a time of 1.22.2 and the second place went to Greek Stathis Chorafas with a performance of 1.23.0, but it is one of the events where there are other opinions about the runner-up. The final ranking:  Hajos (Hungary) 1.22.2 Horafas (Greece) 1.23.0 Herschmann (Austria).