Spyridon Louis
Gold medal, April 10, 1896, Marathon. Athens 1896
The 17 participating athletes from five countries knew how to cover the 40 km distance to the Panathenaic Stadium, but except for the Greeks, only Gyula Kellner of Hungary had once run such a long distance in Budapest. Nevertheless, everyone was optimistic at the start of the marathon, which was started with a pistol. Braver foreign runners, or those unaware of the danger, ran faster than everyone else, and indeed Frenchman Albin Lermusiaux gained a lead of about two kilometers relatively early. Amid the dust clouds of the dirt road and the presence of thousands of residents along the route, from the surrounding villages and regions, the runners continued their long journey, with Lermusiaux always in the lead. At about kilometer 28, at the height of Pallini, the French runner showed the first signs of exhaustion, and a little later, at kilometer 30, he gave up. Behind the pioneers, two Greek athletes, Charilaos Vasilakos and Spyros Louis, ran quite intelligently and calculatedly.
After Lermusiaux’s exit, Australian Edwin Flack, who had won the 800m and 1500m but soon showed signs of exhaustion, took the lead. Spyros Louis found himself close to him at kilometer 34 and for a few minutes they ran side by side. At kilometer 37, the Greek champion from Marousi with the number 17 on his jersey, as soon as he noticed Flak’s heavy breathing, increased his pace and “flew” towards victory. Hundreds of thousands of fans welcomed him as the winner in the Panathenaic Stadium with incredible enthusiasm. Louis, the first winner in the history of the Olympic marathon, ran the 40 km in a time of 2:58.50 hours under three hours and was the only one to break that mark. Greek Belokas finished third, but international literature says he was dropped because he got into a car, and both the IOC and the IAAF assign third place to Hungarian Kellner. In Greece, nothing concrete was ever mentioned on the subject. For Belokas, the Hungarians report Kellner told them after the finish that only two runners had passed him. The referee Ferens Kemeni questionned Belokas, who admitted that he ran part of the course on a cart. The final ranking: Louis (Greece) 2:58.50 Vasilakos (Greece) 3:06.03 Kellner (Hungary) 3:06.35 Vrettos (Greece) Papasymeon (Greece) Deligiannis (Greece) Gerakakis (Greece) Masouris (Greece)
They said..
“No, the races started on Easter Sunday, and I had no idea on Thursday before Easter that I would be running. I only knew that Papasymeon from Maroussi and Kalantzis or Karras from Chalandri were training for the marathon and would be running as a trial. The committee had declared that whoever ran in three hours and five minutes would have the right to participate in the Olympics. Many men from Maroussi went to watch the test, where the man from Chalandri outran the one from Maroussi. On the way back to our village, we passed through Chalandri and heard jokes from the inhabitants of Chalandri about the fate of us. We could not bear it and decided to take revenge. Mousouris, Lavrentis, Papasymeon’s brother, I and another went to Athens on Holy Saturday and told the committee that we wanted to run. They told us to take a test and if we ran under three hours and five minutes we would be admitted to the Olympics. Our villagers organized a fundraiser and bought us sports shoes, which were worth 25 drachmas at the time. On Easter Monday we started for the marathon. After four days. Lavrentis finished first. I finished fifth because I was in pain, but I was on time. The other day I was stuck and tried to numb myself with a massage. Three days later, on the eve of the Olympics, we went to Marathon, and in the evening we were received by the mayor. I did not think I would win because I was still feeling numb. When the time came, one of the Olympic Committee spoke in a foreign language and in Greek and told us that this was the great day of Greece. I did not understand why it was a long day, as I found out later. At that moment I thought that the road was long, and it comforted me that I had the right to stop when I saw that I could go no further. No, at Pikermi, halfway, I was sixth. The first was a Frenchman, the second an Australian and others. From Pikermi I started to catch them one by one, and in Agia Paraskevi I reached the first. From then on I held the first place.” When asked what he felt after the race, Spyros Louis emphasized, “Nothing. I was hungry… After such a long journey…”.
April 10, 1896
