Spiridon Louis
Encyclopedia
Spyridon Louis was a Greek
water-carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic 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. Louis's father sold mineral water in Athens, at the time lacking a central water supply, and his son helped him by transporting it.
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 would-be 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' running talents, had convinced him to try out. Louis crossed the line in fifth place, behind winner Dimitrios Deligiannis
.
The Olympic marathon was run on April 10 (or March 29 by the Julian Calendar
then in use in Greece). 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 yearned for the marathon to be won by one of their countrymen.
, 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. (Louis' grandson, Spiridon Louis, has said that this is incorrect; that his grandfather's girlfriend gave him half an orange
and shortly afterwards he "got a glass of cognac from his future father in law.") 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 Edwin Flack, an Australia
n 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.
In the stadium, the atmosphere was tense, especially after a cyclist brought the news that the Australian 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:
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; 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.
His last public appearance came in 1936, when he was invited to be 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.
Several months before the Italian 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. The expression in Greek: Yinome Louis (Γίνομαι Λούης) translated as to becοme Louis means tο disappear by running fast.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
water-carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
at the 1896 Summer Olympics
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era...
, thereby becoming a national hero.
Louis was born in the town of Marousi
Marousi
Marousi , alternative forms: Maroussi, Amarousion, and Amaroussion, is a suburban city NE of Athens, Greece. The Athens Olympic Sports Complex, the largest sports complex in Greece, is also located here; its main street is Kifisias Avenue, and also contains four ISAP train stations and two of the...
, which is now a suburb to the north of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, into a poor farmer's family. Louis's father sold mineral water in Athens, at the time lacking a central water supply, and his son helped him by transporting it.
Preparation
After the decision to revive the Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
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
Michel Bréal
"Breal" redirects here. For the Rapper see B-RealMichel Jules Alfred Bréal , French philologist, was born at Landau in Rhenish Bavaria. He is often identified as a founder of modern semantics....
, who was inspired by the legend of the messenger Phidippides, who had run from the town of Marathon
Marathon, Greece
Marathon is a town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. The tumulus or burial mound for the 192 Athenian dead that was erected near the battlefield remains a feature of the coastal plain...
to Athens to announce the Athenian victory in the Battle of Marathon
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate...
.
The Greeks were very enthusiastic about this new event and decided to stage qualifying races for would-be 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
Kharilaos Vasilakos
Charilaos Vasilakos was a Greek athlete, and the first man to win a marathon race. He also won a silver medal at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.He was born in Tripoli.On March 10, 1896, Greece held the first modern Panhellenic Games...
in 3 hours, 18 minutes. Louis participated in the second qualifying race, two weeks later. Papadiamantopoulos, who knew Louis' running talents, had convinced him to try out. Louis crossed the line in fifth place, behind winner Dimitrios Deligiannis
Dimitrios Deligiannis
Dimitrios Deligiannis was a Greek athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.He was born in Stemnitsa, Gortynia.Deligiannis was one of 17 athletes to start the marathon race. He finished sixth of the nine athletes to have completed the race.-External links:*...
.
The Olympic marathon was run on April 10 (or March 29 by the Julian Calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
then in use in Greece). The Greek public had been very enthusiastic about the Games, but was disappointed in the fact that no track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
event had yet been won by a Greek competitor. The victory in the discus throw
Discus throw
The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...
, a classical Greek event, by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Robert Garrett
Robert Garrett
Robert Garrett was an American athlete. He was the first modern Olympic champion in discus throw and shot put.-Biography:...
had been particularly painful. Because of its close connection with Greek history, the public desperately yearned for the marathon to be won by one of their countrymen.
The marathon race
In Marathon, Colonel Papadiamantopoulos gave the starting signal for the small field, consisting of thirteen athletes from Greece and four 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 LermusiauxAlbin Lermusiaux
Albin Lermusiaux was a French athlete and shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Lermusiaux won his preliminary heat of the 800 metres with a time of 2:16.6. This qualified him to compete in the final, but Lermusiaux chose not to do so.In the 1,500 metres, which was run in a...
, who had earlier placed third in the final of the 1500 metres. In the town of Pikermi
Pikermi
Pikermi is a town and a former community of Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rafina-Pikermi, of which it is a municipal unit....
, Louis made a stop at a local inn to drink a glass of wine. (Louis' grandson, Spiridon Louis, has said that this is incorrect; that his grandfather's girlfriend gave him half an orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
and shortly afterwards he "got a glass of cognac from his future father in law.") 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 Edwin Flack, an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n 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.
In the stadium, the atmosphere was tense, especially after a cyclist brought the news that the Australian 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
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
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 KingGeorge I of GreeceGeorge I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...
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
Spiridon Belokas
Spyridon Belokas was a Greek athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.He was born in Athens.Belokas was one of 17 athletes to start the Olympic marathon race. He crossed the finish line in third place behind Spiridon Louis and Kharilaos Vasilakos, but was later found to have...
was later found to have covered part of the course by carriage and was disqualified; his place was taken by the Hungarian Gyula Kellner
Gyula Kellner
Gyula Kellner was a Hungarian athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Kellner was one of 17 athletes to start the marathon race...
.
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 to be a guest of honour by the organizers of the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
, held in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. After bearing the standard of the Greek team during the opening ceremonies, he was received by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and offered him an olive branch from Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, as a symbol of peace.
Several months before the Italian invasion of Greece, Louis died. Many sports clubs in Greece and abroad still carry his name, as does the main stadium
Olympic Stadium (Athens)
The Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" , is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spiros Louis.-History:...
at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex
Athens Olympic Sports Complex
The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens "Spiros Louis" or OACA , is a sport facilities complex located at Marousi, northeast Athens, Greece...
, where the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
were held, as well as the road passing outside (Spiros Louis Avenue).
The Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
movie It Happened in Athens
It Happened In Athens
It Happened in Athens was a 1962 comedy film released by 20th Century Fox. This was film star Jayne Mansfield's last film to be released by studio 20th Century Fox...
is a heavily-fictionalized take on Louis and the marathon. The expression in Greek: Yinome Louis (Γίνομαι Λούης) translated as to becοme Louis means tο disappear by running fast.