Spyridon Louis
Louis in 1896 | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 12 January 1873 Marousi, Kingdom of Greece | |||||||||||
| Died | 26 March 1940 (aged 67) Marousi, Kingdom of Greece | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
| Event | Marathon | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| Personal best | 2:58:50 (1896) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Spyridon Louis (Greek: Σπυρίδων Λούης [spiˈriðon ˈluis], 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 Summer Olympics. Following his victory, he was celebrated as a national hero.
A former soldier, Louis was encouraged to try out for the Olympics by his former commanding officer. After progressing through qualifying, he went on to win the inaugural Olympic marathon after placing first among seventeen competitors. Louis later became a police officer and a farmer. Outside of his athletics career, Louis was arrested for forgery, of which he was acquitted after spending a year in jail.