Charilaos Vasilakos (Greek: Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος, November 1875 – 1 December 1964)[1][4] was a Greek athlete and the first man to win a marathon race.[5] He also won a copper medal[a] for second place finish at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.[6]
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | November 1875 Piraeus, Greece | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 1 December 1964 (aged 89) Athens, Greece | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Club | Panellinios G.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal best | Marathon: 3:06:03 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
editVasilakos was born in Piraeus, Greece.[7] His father Michael Vasilakos, was from the Mani region and served in the army.[8] He was the oldest of three siblings, and at the age of fourteen, his father died.[8][9] As a young man he studied law at the University of Athens and worked in the Athens court of first instance.[1][8] He was a member of the Panellinios sports club and a dedicated athlete who pursued running.[10][11]
On 22 March 1896,[13] Greece held the first modern Panhellenic Games. The main purpose of the games was to select the team that would compete in the first Modern Olympic Games later the same year. All participants were members of Greek sports clubs. Vasilakos had a reputation as a strong long-distance runner. He won the marathon race with a time of 3 hours and 18 minutes.[7][11][14]
Vasilakos was one of seventeen athletes who started the Olympic race on 10 April 1896. He finished in second place, behind Spiridon Louis, with a time of 3:06.03 as one of only nine finishers. Both races were on 40-kilometre courses rather than the now-standard 42.195 kilometres.[11]
After the Olympics, Vasilakos helped establish, and participated in, racewalking in Greece.[15][16] In 1900 he won the first Greek 1000 metres walking race and participated in several races between 1900 and 1906.[15][1]: 32
Vasilakos studied law and became a customs director in the Greek Ministry of Finance. He had a reputation for honesty and integrity.[7][11] In 1960, he was awarded the Gold Cross of the Order of Phoenix by King Paul of Greece.[8][1]: 6 Annual marathon races in Olympia commemorate Vasilakos.[15][17] He was married to his wife Helen.[16] He died in Athens in 1964.[16]
The 2011 book titled Ο Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος και η αμφιλεγόμενη πρωτιά του Σπύρου Λούη, which translates from Greek to Charilaos Vasilakos and the controversial lead of Spyros Louis, presents a biography of Vasilakos and signs which challenge the 1896 Olympic race results.[18]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "Βιογραφικό Χαρίλαου Βασιλάκου (1875–1964)" [Biography of Charilaos Vasilakos (1875–1964)] (PDF). pdlakonias.gr. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017. Google translation (Note image caption on page 32: Από προπόνηση για τον μαραθώνιο (στη μέση ο Βασιλάκος)
- ^ a b Burton Holmes (1905). The Burton Holmes Lectures: The Olympian games in Athens. Grecian journeys. The wonders of Thessaly. New York: McClure, Phillips & Co. p. 69. ISBN 9781276985949. Retrieved 25 April 2015.(Digital compilation from original title: The Burton Holmes Lectures (Volume 3): With Illustrations from Photographs by the Author, Year:1901, ISBN 9781151940469, on 6 November 2008, University of Michigan)
- ^ a b "1896, Marathon Runners, Burton Holmes". Getty Images. 10 March 2004. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "Olympedia: Charilaos Vasilakos biographical information". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Sarah Bond (12 September 2016). "September 12, 490 BCE: Remembering The Battle of Marathon On The 2,506th Anniversary". Forbes. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ David Martin (2000). "Marathon running as a social and athletic phenomenon: historical and current trends". In Dan Tunstall Pedoe (ed.). Marathon Medicine. London: Royal Society of Medicine Press. p. 31. ISBN 9781853154607. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ a b c "'Επέστρεψε' στον Μαραθώνα ο Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος" [Charilaos Vasilakos "Returned" to Marathon]. elzoni.gr. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015. Google translation
- ^ a b c d Spyridoula Spanea (5 March 2016). "Τα ιστορικά βήματα ενός άγνωστου θρύλου" [Historical steps of an unknown legend]. kathimerini.gr. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2017. Google translation
- ^ Donald George Makfaiil (2003). "Τρέχει σαν … Βασιλάκος" [Runs like ... Vasilakos]. mani.org.gr. Archived from the original on 25 March 2003. Retrieved 8 April 2017. Google translation
- ^ "Οι Ολυμπιονίκες του Συλλόγου μας" [The Olympian of our Association]. panelliniosac.gr. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2017. Google translation
- ^ a b c d David E. Martin; Roger W.H. Gynn (2000). The Olympic Marathon. Human Kinetics. pp. 9–23. ISBN 9780880119696. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "The historical athletic and personal heirlooms of the Greek Olympic Champion Harilaos Vasilakos". Marathon Run Museum. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2015.(Note: The webpage includes an image gallery, the last image in the gallery identifies Vasilakos as the middle runner.)
- ^ Race date:
- Anthony Bijkerk; David C. Young (Winter 1999). "That Memorable First Marathon" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. 7 (1). ISOH: 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- This date is specified as 10 March in some sources as Greece used the Julian calendar at the time. Further notes on article's talk page.
- ^ Richard Benyo; Joe Henderson (2002). Running Encyclopedia. Human Kinetics. p. 250. ISBN 9780736037341. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ a b c "Δεύτερος Μαραθώνιος Ολυμπίας: Το πρόγραμμα της διοργάνωσης και η τελετή βράβευσης" [Second Marathon Olympia: The program of the event and the award ceremony]. Huffington Post. 11 March 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017. Google translation
- ^ a b c "Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος: Ο 2ος 'άγνωστος' Ολυμπιονίκης στο Μαραθώνιο του 1896" [Charilaos Vasilakos: The second "unknown" Olympian at the 1896 Marathon]. protinews.gr. 6 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015. Google translation
- ^ "Olympia Marathon". olympiamarathon.gr. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ 2011 book:
- Petros N. Linardos [in Greek] (9 June 2013). "Λούης και Βασιλάκος" [Louis and Vasilakos]. To Vima, tovima.gr. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2017. Google translation
- Elias Bitsanis (7 August 2013). "'Ο Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος και η αμφιλεγόμενη πρωτιά του Σπύρου Λούη' από τον Ντόναλντ-Γεώργιο Μακφαίηλ" ['Charilaos Vassilakos and the controversial first of Spyros Louis' by Donald-Georgios McFayel]. eleftheriaonline.gr. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017. Google translation
- Antonis Niniakos (15 January 2017). "Μιλήσαμε με τους Έλληνες που Υποστηρίζουν ότι ο Σπύρος Λούης Ίσως να Έκλεψε την Πρωτιά του Μαραθωνίου το 1896" [We spoke to the Greeks who argue that Spyros Louis may have stolen the marathon lead in 1896]. vice.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2017. Google translation
- ^ Mike Sydlowsk (11 February 2014). "Why are Olympic medals gold, silver and bronze?". Columbia Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
External links
edit- Charilaos Vasilakos at Olympedia
- Charilaos Vasilakos at the Hellenic Olympic Committee
- Olympic Marathon 1896, translated from the original in Greek at sansimera.gr
- Charilaos Vasilakos – the favorite who finished second, translated from the original in Greek at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 August 2008)
