Summer Olympic Games 1906 Athens games were the first of an alternating series of games to be held in Athens, but the series failed to materialise. The games were more successful than the 1900 and 1904 games, with over 900 athletes competing, and contributed positively to the success of future games. The 1908 London Games saw numbers rise again, as well as the first running of the marathon over its now-standard distance of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). The first Olympic Marathon in 1896 (a male-only race) was raced at a distance of 40 km (24 miles 85 yards). The new marathon
Colonialism and the Olympic Games founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, sport and colonialism were logical companions. He called sports "a vigorous instrument of the disciplining" of colonized people, and viewed it as a calming force in the colonies. O'Bonsawin writes that Olympism, as a "philosophy", speaks "in truisms of equity, anti-discrimination, mutual recognition and respect, tolerance and solidarity." But she and other critics argue that in reality Olympism serves as an "apologetic" for a movement that is actually "deeply politicized and xenophobic." O'Bonsawin also argues that in encouraging Olympic participants to "cast aside everyday lived experiences...shaped by such factors as race,