Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Athletics at the
1896 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m   men
400 m men
800 m men
1500 m men
110 m hurdles men
Road events
Marathon men
Field events
Long jump men
Triple jump men
High jump men
Pole vault men
Shot put men
Discus throw men

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. The first such marathon race was a Greek national competition that served as a qualifier for the Olympic marathon; the qualifier was won by Kharilaos Vasilakos. The length of the marathon in 1896 was 40 kilometres.

Spiridon Louis entering the stadium at the end of the marathon
Spiridon Louis entering the stadium at the end of the marathon

25 athletes traveled to Marathon for the race from there to Athens, though only 17 actually began the race. Just as in the 1500 metre race, Albin Lermusiaux took the lead early. Teddy Flack and Arthur Blake maintained the second and third places until Blake dropped out at 23 kilometres. At 32 kilometres, Lermusiaux dropped out as well, leaving Flack in the lead. That lead was not secure, however, as the Greek Spiridon Louis was making full use of his endurance to gain slowly on Flack.

Exhausted from trying to maintain his pace, Flack dropped out of the race with about 4 kilometres left. Louis was left alone at the front, finishing the 40 kilometre race in slightly less than 3 hours. Vasilakos finished second, followed closely by Spiridon Belokas and Gyula Kellner. Belokas's third-place finish was voided when it was discovered that he had covered part of the course by carriage.

[edit] Medallists

Gold Silver Bronze
Greece Spiridon Louis
Greece (GRE)		 Greece Kharilaos Vasilakos
Greece (GRE)		 Hungary Gyula Kellner
Hungary (HUN)

[edit] Results

Marathon runners on the road to Athens
Marathon runners on the road to Athens
Place Athlete Time
1 Greece Spiridon Louis (GRE) 2:58:50
2 Greece Kharilaos Vasilakos (GRE) 3:06:03
3 Hungary Gyula Kellner (HUN) 3:06:35
4 Greece Ioannis Vrettos (GRE) Unknown
5 Greece Eleitherios Papasimeon (GRE) Unknown
6 Greece Dimitrios Deligiannis (GRE) Unknown
7 Greece Evangelos Gerakeris (GRE) Unknown
8 Greece Stamatios Masouris (GRE) Unknown
9 France Sokratis Lagoudakis (FRA) Unknown
– Australia Teddy Flack (AUS) Retired at 37 km
France Albin Lermusiaux (FRA) Retired at 32 km
Greece Ioannis Lavrentis (GRE) Retired at 24 km
Greece Georgios Grigoriou (GRE) Retired at 24 km
Greece Ilias Kafetzis (GRE) Retired at 9 km
Greece Dimitrios Khristopoulos (GRE) DNF
United States Arthur Blake (USA) DNF
– Greece Spiridon Belokas (GRE) DQ (3:06:30)

[edit] References

  • Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck.  (Digitally available at AAFLA.org)
  • Mallon, Bill; & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9.  (Excerpt available at AAFLA.org)
  • Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X. 


OLYMPIC MARATHON RACES
Men's Competition

Athens 1896 | Paris 1900 | St. Louis 1904 | Athens 1906 | London 1908 | Stockholm 1912 | Antwerp 1920 | Paris 1924 | Amsterdam 1928 | Los Angeles 1932 | Berlin 1936 | London 1948 | Helsinki 1952 | Melbourne 1956 | Rome 1960 | Tokyo 1964 | Mexico City 1968 | Munich 1972 | Montreal 1976 | Moscow 1980 | Los Angeles 1984 | Seoul 1988 | Barcelona 1992 | Atlanta 1996 | Sydney 2000 | Athens 2004 |
Women's Competition

Los Angeles 1984 | Seoul 1988 | Barcelona 1992 | Atlanta 1996 | Sydney 2000 | Athens 2004 |


Languages