Spyridon Louis

Spyridon Louis
Spyridon Louis in 1896
Personal information
Born 12 January 1873
Marousi, Greece
Died 26 March 1940 (aged 67)
Marousi, Greece
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Marathon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 2:58:50 (1896)[1]
Medal record
Representing  Greece
Olympic Games
1896 Athens Marathon

Spyridon "Spyros" Louis (also spelt Spiridon, Greek: Σπυρίδων "Σπύρος" Λούης, sometimes transliterated Loues; 12 January 1873 – 26 March 1940) was a Greek water-carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics, thereby becoming a national hero.[2]

A former soldier, he was convinced to try out by his former commanding officer. After progressing through qualifying, he went on to win the inaugural Olympic marathon after placing first from seventeen competitiors. Louis later became a police officer and a farmer. Outside of his athletics career, Louis was arrested for forgery but acquitted after spending a year in jail.

Early life

Louis was born in the town of Marousi, north of Athens, into a poor 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.[3]

Preparation

After Pierre de Coubertin's decision in 1894 to revive the Olympic Games, 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 Pheidippides, who had run from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce the Athenian victory in the Battle of Marathon.[4]

The Greeks were very enthusiastic about this new event and decided to hold qualifiers for the marathon. These races were started by Colonel Papadiamantopoulos, who Louis previously served under in the military.[5] The first qualifying race—the first ever marathon race—was held on 22 March, and was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours, 18 minutes.[6] Louis participated in the second qualifying race, two weeks later, and placed fifth.[7] Papadiamantopoulos, who knew of Louis' talent in running, had convinced him to try out.[8]

The Olympic marathon was run on 10 April (or 29 March by the Julian calendar then in use in Greece). The Greek public had been very enthusiastic about the Games, but were disappointed in the fact that no track and field event had yet been won by a Greek competitor.[9] 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 yearned for the marathon to be won by one of their countrymen.[10]

The marathon race

In Marathon, Colonel Papadiamantopoulos gave the starting signal for the small field, consisting of seventeen athletes, thirteen of them representing Greece. 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 placed third in the 1500 metres prior to the marathon.[11] In the town of Pikermi, Louis is said to have made a stop at a local inn to drink a glass of wine. (Louis' grandson, also Spiridon Louis, has stated 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."[12]) After asking for the advantage of the other runners, he confidently declared he would overtake them all before the end.[13]

After 26 km, Lermusiaux was exhausted and abandoned the race. The lead was taken over by Edwin Flack, an Australian who won the 800 and 1500 m races. Louis slowly closed in on Flack. The Australian, not used to running long distances, collapsed a few kilometers onwards, giving Louis the lead.[14][15]

During the race, there was tension among the Greek spectators when Flack was in first place. However, when news was delivered to the fans that Louis overtook the lead, the cry "Hellene, Hellene!" was taken up by rapturous spectators.[11][16] Louis was greeted with cheers after entering the stadium for the final part of the marathon. Louis ran with Constantine I of Greece and Prince George of Greece during the last lap for a finishing time of 2:58:50.[1][16][17] Louis's victory set off wild celebrations, as described in the official report of the Games:

Here the Olympionic 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, even strangers were carried away by the general enthusiasm.[18]

Adding to the celebrations, two more Greek runners entered the stadium to finish in second and third place. Third place finisher Spyridon 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.[19]

After the Olympics

After his victory, Louis received gifts from many countrymen, ranging from jewellery to a lifelong free shave at a barber shop. It is unknown whether Louis accepted all these gifts, although he did take back home the carriage he had asked of the king. After the Olympics, Louis ended his athletic career to become a farmer and a police officer.[7][19]

Spyridon Louis with Crown Prince (later king) Paul of Greece in Berlin, during the 1936 Summer 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.[2][20]

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.[3][21] Louis recalled the moments after his victory: "That hour was something unimaginable and it still appears to me in my memory like a dream … Twigs and flowers were raining down on me. Everybody was calling out my name and throwing their hats in the air ..."[7]

Several months before the Italian invasion of Greece, Louis died.[22] In Greece, various sports establishments are named after Louis. These include the Olympic Stadium of Athens where the 2004 Summer Olympics were held, as well as the road outside the stadium.[2]

The Jayne Mansfield movie It Happened in Athens is a heavily fictionalized take on Louis and the marathon,[23] and his story is featured in the 1984 TV miniseries The First Olympics: Athens 1896.[24] The expression in Greek: "yinomai Louis" (γίνομαι Λούης), translated as "to becοme Louis," means "tο disappear by running fast."[22]

Breal's Silver Cup

The silver cup given to Louis at the first modern Olympic Games staged in Athens in 1896, was sold for £541,250 ($860,000) in London during a Christie's auction on 18 April 2012. The trophy, with a height of six inches, broke the auction record for Olympic memorabilia. The item was sold on the day Britain marked the 100 days' countdown to the 2012 London Olympics. Christie's called the auction "heated" and involved six bidders. The auctioneer later confirmed the buyer as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.[25][26]

The cup is currently displayed at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, a project of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, fulfilling the commitment of the foundation to make it available to the public and to share it with everyone, upon the project's completion. During the development of the project, the cup was temporarily displayed at the Acropolis Museum of Athens and the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, during a period that coincided with the International Marathon of Lausanne.[27][28]

References

  1. 1 2 "In Greece, Everyone Has a Spyro Story". The Los Angeles Times. 22 August 2004. p. 103. Retrieved 19 October 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "Spyros Louis at the Olympics". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 Pappas, Gregory (1 August 2016). "On This Day August 1, 1936: Spyridon Louis Presents Hitler with Olive Tree from Olympia". The Pappas Post. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "Athletics at the 1896 Athina Summer Games: Men's Marathon". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  5. ↑ Jones, Hugh (23 February 2018). "Spiridon Louis". Distance Running. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Today's Sports". Daily Sitka Sentinel. 10 March 1994. p. 7. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 "Local Hero Louis Earns Cult Status in Marathon". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Bryant, John (15 December 2010). The London Marathon. Random House. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-4464-1067-7.
  9. ↑ Martin, David E.; Gynn, Roger W. H. (2000). The Olympic Marathon. Human Kinetics. pp. 12–19. ISBN 978-0-88011-969-6.
  10. ↑ "The Diskos Not So Hot". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 11 July 1936. p. 11. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  11. 1 2 Berry, Kevin (21 December 1999). "Berry's 50 Best". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 33. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "A Marathon legend revisited". International Association of Athletics Federations. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  13. ↑ Bostock, Andrew (May 2013). Greece: The Peloponnese. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-84162-451-8.
  14. ↑ "The 'Lion of Athens' conquers Olympics". The Age. 14 April 1896. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Rejoice! 21st-century messenger lives to tell his tale". South Florida Sun Sentinel. 18 July 2004. p. 50. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  16. 1 2 "The original marathon man". The Independent. 7 August 2004. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  17. ↑ Miller, David (6 January 2012). "The marathon hero fuelled by wine and spirit". Express Newspapers. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  18. ↑ Lambros, Spyridon; Politers, N. G. "Official Report of the 1896 Olympics" (PDF). p. 209. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  19. 1 2 Fennelly, Martin (11 June 1992). "Olympics 101". The Tampa Tribune. p. 32. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  20. ↑ Mallon, Bill; Heijamns, Jeroen (11 August 2011). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement (4th ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-8108-7522-7. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  21. ↑ "Olympics Games Open To-Day: Athletes of 54 Nations to March Past Herr Hitler". The Manchester Guardian. Berlin, Germany. 31 July 1936. p. 14. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  22. 1 2 Owen, Paul (11 May 2017). For the Love of Running: A Companion. Summersdale Publishers Limited. p. 1962. ISBN 978-1-78685-163-5.
  23. ↑ "Screen: Olympic Games:'It Happened in Athens' at Local Theaters". www.nytimes.com. 15 November 1962. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  24. ↑ O'Connor, John J. (20 May 1984). "Squeezing Inspiration from the 1896 Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  25. ↑ Collett, Mike. (18 April 2012) "Marathon cup from 1896 sets Olympics auction record". Reuters. Retrieved on 20 August 2015.
  26. ↑ Minard, Jenny (18 April 2012). "Olympic cup raises record amount". BBC News. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  27. ↑ Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center web site "Spyros Louis’ Breal Cup"
  28. ↑ Glass, Nick (19 April 2012). "Iconic Olympic cup returns home to Greece for record price at auction". CNN. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • Murphy, Brian (8 August 2004). "Modern Olympics Giants Returns to Its Humbling Roots". The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. p. 10. Retrieved 19 October 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

Bibliography

  • Verinis, James P. (May 2005). "Spiridon Loues, the Modern Foustanéla, and the Symbolic Power of Pallikariá at the 1896 Olympic Games"" (PDF). Journal of Modern Greek Studies. 23 (1): 139–175. doi:10.1353/mgs.2005.0010 – via Project MUSE. (Subscription required (help)).
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