Unbelievable Creatures

VII – Spyridon Louis (1873 – 1940)

He was a simple man who loved sports,

became hero and then a simple man
again.

Spyridon "Spyros" Louis was a Greek water-carrier who won the first modern-day 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.

After the decision to revive the Olympic Games in 1894, preparations were made to organize the first
modern Olympics in Athens. At the games, Greek public had been very enthusiastic about the Games, but
was painful by the victory in the discus throw, a classical Greek event, by the American Robert Garrett
had been particularly. Because of its close connection with Greek historians, the public desperately
yearned for the marathon to be won by one of their countrymen. The marathon, an event which had
never been held before, was run on April 10.

In the town of Pikermi, Louis made a stop at a local inn to drink a glass of wine. After asking for the
advantage of the other runners, he confidently declared he would overtake them all before the end. Louis
slowly closed in on the leader Edwin Flack runner, an Australian who had already been victorious in the
Olympic 800 and 1500m. Edwin 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 the first one. When Louis finally arrived in the stadium the cry "Hellene, Hellene!" was taken up by
thousands of rapturous spectators. His finishing time was 2:58:50, almost three hours, but 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. The king of
Greece 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.

In 1926, Louis was arrested on charges of falsifying military documents and was imprisoned for one year.
His last public appearance came in 1936, when he was invited to be a guest of honor 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.

Louis died in 1940. 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 (Spyros Louis Avenue).