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| Panathenaic Stadium where I had the opportunity to run a few meters retracing Spiridon Louis route |
When I ran those 200 metres to the finish line on the Panathenaic
stadium in Athens, I had only one motive - I wanted to retrace an historic path by
Spiridon Louis whose victory at the Marathon event in 1896 heralded the
beginning of modern Olympics.
Those humble beginnings to Spiridon Louis began in Marousi
where his livelihood was earned through transporting fresh water to the
inhabitants of Athens - a task that required endurance at a time when water
filled tanks was a dream. It wasn't a surprise when he chose a horse and a cart
from the Greek King as a part of a 'promise' which allowed winners to be
granted with a wish. He knew 'fame'
had an expiry date and he went about his usual business after being hailed as
'Greek's national hero' post the 1896 Olympics.
LEGEND OF MARATHON
Michel Breal, a friend of Pierre de Coubertin used his
knowledge of history to good use when the first modern Olympic Games were being
planned in 1894. He suggested Coubertin to include long distance running
competition (25.8 miles) for the Olympics which would add local interest. Not
surprisingly, the organisers were delighted with this proposal. The legend of 'Pheidippides'
would now be re-lived. The distance 25.8 miles equivalent to 40 km happens to
be the approximate distance from the plains of Marathon to the city of Athens. Pheidippides,
in his role as a messenger ran 40 km to bear the surprise news of Greek's
victory over invading Persians. He blurted out a message which is translated "Rejoice,
we conquer" before he collapsed and died. This legend lived on through
centuries from the time of Ancient Greece to the turn of 19th century and now an
integral part of the Olympic movement.
AT THE OLYMPICS
Before the start of the Olympics, the locals had a
disappointing games with no medals to their tally. All hopes were on the
Marathon event. As a means to motivate their countrymen, a lot of rewards were
promised for a Greek winner. Wealthy and noblemen in and around Athens threw in
their offers before the event began. Odds for a Greek win were high as the 21
participants out of 25 finalists were from Greece. However, if anything to go
by the performance of American and Australian athletes at the earlier events, a
Greek win would surely be an extraordinary effort.
THE RACE
The initial part of the race belonged to the trio of
non-Greeks who were the three medallists from the 1500m event. Frenchmen Albin Lermusiaux led the pack for more
than 3/4th the distance. Behind him was the Australian Edwin Flack and the
American Arthur Blake. The only other non-Greek participant was from Hungary
and he was some distance away. The American was the first to pull out after 23
laps and then it was the Frenchmen nine laps later. Edwin Flack who already had
two gold medals to his name from the games had eight more kilometers to claim
glory. However, he was in an unknown territory of running this long a distance.
He was stretching his physical limits and stopped his race just three
kilometers from the finish. The news had spread - it was a Greek who was now in
the lead and unlike others, his daily job allowed him to endure and not
collapse like the other race favourites. He entered the Panathenaic stadium with crowd cheering every step he
ran and finished the race just short of 3 hours. Spiridon Louis victorious and the
first success story of Olympic movement was scripted!
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| Spiridon Louis at the 1896 Olympics |
THE HERO OLYMPIC MOVEMENT
BADLY NEEDED
Going by his grandson's words, Spiridon Louis accepted none
of the cash rich rewards and instead opted just for a cart and a horse. Along
with the unofficial rewards, he was presented with the Breal's Silver Cup for
winning the marathon. He quietly went back to his hometown Marousi, married his
girlfriend and led a low-profile life farming and later as a local police
officer. His final public appearance also happened to be at the Olympics, in
Berlin 40 years later where he was received with much fanfare. He recalled that
hour which made him a Greek hero for life - “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…”
A Greek winning the prestigious and historic event
positively pushed the cause of Olympic movement. For those scenes, the joyous
crowd running short of praise for their newfound hero was just the final touch
Pierre de Coubertin was looking for when he had envisioned the idea of
'Olympics' and its revival. If not for that emotional connection, I am pretty
sure, Olympics as a concept would have taken a different course.
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