Charilaos Vasilakos

Charilaos Vasilakos (Greek: Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος, November 1875 – 1 December 1964)[1] was a Greek athlete and the first man to win a marathon race.[4] He also won a silver medal at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.[5][6]

Charilaos Vasilakos
Vasilakos in training on the road from Marathon to Athens in preparation for the 1896 Olympics[1][2][3]
Personal information
BornNovember 1875
Piraeus, Greece
Died(1964-12-01)1 December 1964 (aged 89)
Athens, Greece
Sport
ClubPanellinios G.S.
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Marathon: 3:06:03
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Greece
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1896 Athens Marathon

Biography

Vasilakos 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 age 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]

Vasilakos in the middle,[12][13] marathon runners in training, 1896[2][3]

On 22 March 1896,[14] 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][15]

Vasilakos was one of seventeen athletes to start 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.[16][17] In 1900 he won the first Greek 1000 metres walking race and participated in several races between 1900 and 1906.[16][1]: 32 

Vasilakos studied law and went on to become 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.[16][18] He was married to wife Helen.[17] He died in Athens in 1964.[17]

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.[19]

References
  1. "Βιογραφικό Χαρίλαου Βασιλάκου (1875–1964)" [Biography of Charilaos Vasilakos (1875–1964)] (PDF). pdlakonias.gr. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) 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)
  2. 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)
  3. "1896, Marathon Runners, Burton Holmes". Getty Images. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. "Charilaos Vasilakos". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  7. "'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
  8. Spyridoula Spanea (5 March 2016). "Τα ιστορικά βήματα ενός άγνωστου θρύλου" [Historical steps of an unknown legend]. kathimerini.gr. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2017. Google translation
  9. 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
  10. "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
  11. David E. Martin; Roger W.H. Gynn (2000). The Olympic Marathon. Human Kinetics. pp. 9–23. ISBN 9780880119696. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  12. "The historical athletic and personal jewels of the Greek Olympic Champion Harilaos Vasilakos". Marathon Run Museum. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2015.(Note: The webpage includes an image gallery, the last image in the gallery identifies Vasilakos as the middle runner.)
  13. "Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος" [Charilaos Vasilakos]. maniatika.wordpress.com. 31 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017. Google translation
  14. Race date:
    • Anthony Bijkerk; David C. Young (Winter 1999). "That Memorable First Marathon" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. ISOH. 7 (1): 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.
  15. Richard Benyo; Joe Henderson (2002). Running Encyclopedia. Human Kinetics. p. 250. ISBN 9780736037341. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  16. "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
  17. "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
  18. "Olympia Marathon". olympiamarathon.gr. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  19. 2011 book:
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