Charilaos Vasilakos (, November 1875 – 1 December 1964) was a Greek athlete and the first man to win a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

race. He also won a silver medal for a second place finish in marathon at the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad () and commonly known as Athens 1896 (), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wh ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Biography

Vasilakos was born in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, Greece. His father, Michael Vasilakos, was from the

Mani Mani may refer to: People * Mani (name), (), a given name and surname (including a list of people with the name) ** Mani (prophet) (c. 216–274), a 3rd century Iranian prophet who founded Manichaeism ** Mani (musician) (born 1962), an English ...

region and served in the army. He was the oldest of three siblings and at the age of fourteen he lost his father. As a young man he studied law at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

and worked in the Athens

court of first instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

. He was a member of the Panellinios sports club and a dedicated long-distance runner. 1896 Olympic marathon

On 22 March 1896, Greece held the first modern

Panhellenic Games Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate religious festivals held in ancient Greece that became especially well known for the athletic competitions they included. The four festivals were: the Ancient Olympic Games, Olympic 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, who had a reputation as a strong long-distance runner, won the marathon race with a time of 3 hours and 18 minutes. Vasilakos was one of seventeen athletes who started the Olympic race on 10 April 1896. He finished in second place, behind

Spiridon Louis Spyridon Louis ( , sometimes transliterated ''Spiridon Loues''; 12 January 1873 – 26 March 1940), commonly known as Spyros Louis (Σπύρος Λούης), was a Greek water carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 ...

, with a time of 3:06:03 as one of only nine finishers. Both races were run on 40-kilometre courses rather than the now-standard 42.195 kilometres. After the Olympics, Vasilakos helped establish, and participated in,

racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

in Greece. In 1900 he won the first Greek 1000 metres walking race and participated in several races between 1900 and 1906. Vasilakos studied law and became a customs director in the Greek Ministry of Finance. He established a reputation for honesty and integrity. In 1960, he was awarded the Gold Cross of the Order of Phoenix by King

Paul of Greece Paul (; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death on 6 March 1964. Paul was born in Athens as the third son of Constantine I of Greece, Crown Prince Constantine and Sophia of Prussia, Crown Princess ...

. Annual marathon races in Olympia commemorate Vasilakos. His wife was named Helen. He died in Athens in 1964. The 2011 book titled ''Ο Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος και η αμφιλεγόμενη πρωτιά του Σπύρου Λούη'' (''Charilaos Vasilakos and the controversial lead of Spyros Louis''), presents a biography of Vasilakos and signs which challenge the 1896 Olympic race results.

Notes

References

External links

* *
Charilaos Vasilakos Exhibit
at th
Marathon Run MuseumOlympic Marathon 1896
(in Greek) a
sansimera.gr
* (in Greek) at the Hellenic Olympic Committee {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasilakos, Charilaos 1875 births 1964 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1896 Summer Olympics 19th-century Greek sportsmen Gold Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Greek male marathon runners Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Greece Olympic silver medalists for Greece Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes from Piraeus