Charilaos Vasilakos

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

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 for second place at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. ^{[6] [a]}

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]}

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 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. ^{[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 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. ^{[15] [17]} He was married to 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

References

External links

• 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)