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The name Marathon [a] comes from the legend of Philippides (or Pheidippides ), the Greek messenger. The legend states that, while he was taking part in the Battle of Marathon , which took place in August or September, 490 BC,[3] he witnessed a Persian vessel changing its course towards Athens as the battle was near a victorious end for the Greek army. He interpreted this as an attempt by the defeated Persians to rush into the Greek capital and claim a false victory,[4] hence claiming their authority over Greek land. It is said that he ran the entire distance to Athens without stopping, discarding his weapons and even clothes to lose as much weight as possible, and burst into the assembly , exclaiming νενικήκαμεν (nenikēkamen , "we have won!"), before collapsing and dying.[5] The account of the run from Marathon to Athens first appears in Plutarch 's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD, which quotes from Heraclides Ponticus 's lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles.[6] This is the account adopted by Benjamin Haydon for his painting Eucles Announcing the Victory of Marathon ., published as an engraving in 1836 with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon . Satirist Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) first gives an account closest to the modern version of the story, but is writing tongue-in-cheek and also names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides).[7] [8]
There is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend.[9] [10] The Greek historian Herodotus , the main source for the Greco-Persian Wars , mentions Philippides as the messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back, a distance of over 240 kilometres (150 mi) each way.[11] In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger sent from Marathon to Athens, and relates that the main part of the Athenian army, having fought and won the grueling battle, and fearing a naval raid by the Persian fleet against an undefended Athens, marched quickly back from the battle to Athens, arriving the same day.[12]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:PheidippidesIn 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheidippides . Browning's poem, his composite story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend.[13]
Mount Pentelicus stands between Marathon and Athens, which means that if Philippides actually made his famous run after the battle, he had to run around the mountain, either to the north or to the south. The latter and more obvious route matches almost exactly the modern Marathon-Athens highway (EO83 –EO54 ), which follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay and along the coast, then takes a gentle but protracted climb westwards towards the eastern approach to Athens, between the foothills of Mounts Hymettus and Penteli , and then gently downhill to Athens proper. This route, as it existed when the Olympics were revived in 1896, was approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) long, and this was the approximate distance originally used for marathon races. However, there have been suggestions that Philippides might have followed another route: a westward climb along the eastern and northern slopes of Mount Penteli to the pass of Dionysos , and then a straight southward downhill path to Athens. This route is a bit shorter, 35 kilometres (22 mi), but includes a very steep initial climb of more than 5 kilometres (3.1 mi).
When the modern Olympics began in 1896 , the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, recalling the glory of ancient Greece . The idea of a marathon race came from Michel Bréal , who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin , the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as by the Greeks .[14] The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon on 22 March 1896 (Gregorian )[b] that was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes (with the future winner of the introductory Olympic Games marathon, Spyridon "Spyros" Louis , coming in fifth at a second race two weeks later).[15] The winner of the first Olympic marathon , on 10 April 1896 (a male-only race), was Spyridon Louis, a Greek water-carrier, in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds.[16] The marathon of the 2004 Summer Olympics was run on the traditional route from Marathon to Athens , ending at Panathinaiko Stadium , the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics. That men's marathon was won by Italian Stefano Baldini in 2 hours 10 minutes and 55 seconds, a record time for this route until the non-Olympics Athens Classic Marathon of 2014, when Felix Kandie lowered the course record to 2 hours 10 minutes and 37 seconds.
Burton Holmes 's photograph entitled "1896: Three athletes in training for the marathon at the Olympic Games in Athens" .[17] [18]The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, USA) and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds.[19]
It has become a tradition for the men's Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, on the final day of the Olympics.[20] For many years the race finished inside the Olympic stadium; however, at the 2012 Summer Olympics (London), the start and finish were on The Mall ,[21] and at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio de Janeiro ), the start and finish were in the Sambódromo , the parade area that serves as a spectator mall for Carnival .[22]
Often, the men's marathon medals are awarded during the closing ceremony (including the 2004 games , 2012 games and 2016 games ).
The Olympic men's record is 2:06:32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya[23] (average speed about 20.01 kilometres per hour or 12.43 miles per hour). The Olympic women's record is 2:23:07, set at the 2012 Summer Olympics by Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia.[24] The men's London 2012 Summer Olympic marathon winner was Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda (2:08:01). Per capita, the Kalenjin ethnic group of Rift Valley Province in Kenya has produced a highly disproportionate share of marathon and track-and-field winners.