Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon The men's marathon event was a special race invented as part of the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Michel Bréal originated the idea of a race from the city of Marathon to Athens, taking inspiration from the legend of Pheidippides. The first such marathon race was a Greek national competition that served as a qualifier for the Olympic marathon, won by Charilaos Vasilakos. The length of the marathon in 1896 was approximately 40 km (25 mi). Twenty-five athletes traveled to Marathon for the race from there to Athens, though
Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon The men's marathon was a track & field athletics event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 19, 1900. 13 athletes from five nations competed in the marathon, which used a distance of 40.26 kilometres. The winner, Michel Théato, was a native of Luxembourg who is believed to have competed for France. These were the standing world and Olympic records (in hours) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics. "(*)" Distance was 40 kilometres The marathon race, which began at 2:30 p.m. on a day with temperatures