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Louis was born in the town of Amarousi , which is now a suburb of Athens, into a poor farmer's family. His name is transcribed from the Greek in various ways; his given name is also seen as Spyridon (Spyros) and his family name as Loues. Louis's father sold mineral water in Athens, and his son helped him by transporting it.
After the rebirth of the Olympic Games in 1894, preparations were made to organise the first modern Olympics in Athens. One of the events on the programme would be the marathon, an event which had never been held before. It had been suggested by Frenchman Michel Bréal, who had based his idea on the legend of the Greek soldier Phidippides, who had run from the town of Marathon to Athens (or, in some versions, Sparta) to announce the Greek victory in the Battle of Marathon.
The Greeks were very enthusiastic about this new event, and decided to stage qualifying races for the Greek participants. These were organised by an army colonel, Papadiamantopoulos, who had been Louis' commanding officer during the his military service (1893-1895). The first qualifying race – the first ever marathon race – was held on March 22, and was won by Kharilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours, 18 minutes. Louis participated in the second qualifying race, two weeks later. Papadiamantopoulos, who knew Louis's running talents, had convinced him to particpate, and Louis crossed the line as fifth, behind winner Dimitrios Deligiannis.
On April 10 (or March 29March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (89th in Leap years). There are 277 days remaining. Events 1461 Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England. 1638 Swedish colo by the Julian Calendar, then in use in Greece), the Olympic marathon was scheduled. The Greek public had been very enthusiastic about the Games, but was disappointed in the fact that no track and field event had yet been won by a Greek competitor. The victory in the discus throwAlternate meaning: Discus fish The discus throw is an athletics ( track and field) throwing event. The discus the object to be thrown, is a lens-shaped heavy disc with a diameter of 22cm and a weight of two kilograms for the men's event, and one kg for th, a classical Greek event, by the AmericanThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in Robert GarrettRobert S. Garrett (born May 24, 1875 in Baltimore County, Maryland; died April 25, 1951) was an American athlete. He was the first Olympic champion in discus throw and shot put. Athens 1896 Robert Garrett came from a wealthy family and studied in Princeto had been particularly painful. Because of its close connection with Greek history, the public desperately hoped the marathon would be won by one of their countryman.
In Marathon, Colonel Papadiamantopoulos gave the starting signal for the small field of runners, consisting of thirteen Greeks and four foreigners. The early leader of the race, which led over dusty roads along which a lot of Greeks had gathered to watch, was the Frenchman Albin Lermusiaux , who had earlier placed third in the final of the 1500 mFor other uses of "metre" and "meter", see Metre (disambiguation). The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Systeme International d'Unites). It is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in absolute vacu. In the town of Pikermi , Louis made a stop in a local inn to drink a glass of wine. After asking for the advantage of the other runners, he confidently declared he would overtake them all before the end.
After 32 km, Lermusiaux was exhausted, and had to abandon the race after a collapse. The lead was taken over by Teddy FlackEdwin Harold "Teddy" Flack ( November 5, 1873 January 10, 1935) was an Australian athlete. He was the first Olympic champion in the 800 m and 1500 m. Born in London, England, Teddy Flack was five years old when his family migrated to Australia. Soon after, an Australian runner who had already been victorious in the Olympic 800 and 1500 m. Louis slowly closed in on Flack. The Australian, not used to running long distances, collapsed a few kilometers onwards, giving the lead to Louis.
Meanwhile, in the stadium, the atmosphere was tense, especially after a cyclist brought the news that foreigner Flack was in the lead. But another messenger was sent out by the police as soon as Louis moved into the lead, and his message was met ecstatically by the crowd in the stadium. When Louis finally arrived in the stadium, he was met by two Greek princes – Crown Prince Constantine and Prince George – who accompanied him on his final lap for a finishing time of 2:58:50, fueled along the way only by wine, milk, beer, an Easter egg, and some orange juice. Louis's victory then set off wild celebrations, as described in the official report of the Games:
Adding to the celebrations, two more Greek runners entered the stadium to finish in second and third. Third place finisher Spiridon Belokas was later found to have covered part of the course by carriage, and was disqualified, and his place was taken by the Hungarian Gyula Kellner.
After his victory, Louis received gifts from many countrymen, ranging from jewelry to a life-long free shave at the barber shop. It is unknown if Louis took all these gifts, although he did take back home a new carriage to help him in his water-carrying business. He retreated to his hometown, never again competing in running. He lived a quiet live, working as a farmer, and later as a local police officer.
In 1926, Louis was arrested on charges of falsifying military documents and was imprisoned. After spending more than a year in jail, he was found not guilty, and acquitted. Prior to his release, some journalists had written that it was disgrace that a national hero, who "would never do such low things", was imprisoned, thereby illustrating Louis's long-lasting fame.
His last public appearance came in 1936, when he was invited as a guest of honour by the organizers of the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin. After bearing the standard of the Greek team during the opening ceremonies, he was received by Adolf Hitler and offered him an olive branch from Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, as a symbol of peace.
A few weeks before the German invasion of Greece, Louis passed away in his native Amarousi. Many sports clubs in Greece and abroad still carry his name, as does the main stadium at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, where the 2004 Summer Olympics were held.