In 1946, Stylianos "Stelios" Kyriakides, won the 50th Boston Marathon.  He used his marathon win to bring world-wide attention, food and aid to his fellow Greek countrymen who were dying of starvation in the wake of the German occupation in World War II.  After his Boston Marathon win he retuned to Athens where he was greeted by 1million people.

Each year, Stylianos's son Dimitri Kyriakides, donates gold, silver and bronze wreaths that are placed on the heads of marathon winners throughout the world.  The Kyriakides wreaths are donated to honor the humanitarian spirit and the universal language of running that binds all people globally.

Each wreath is hand made in Marathon, Greece, by craftsmen who first harvest olive branches from olive trees near the Tomb of the Athenians. Buried in the tomb are Greek soldiers who gave their lives in the Battle of Marathon more than 2,500 years ago. Historians mark this battle as the first defense of democracy in human history.