Olympic Success in 1896
Konstantinidis competed in the 10 kilometres, 100 kilometres, and road races. He won the road race, covering the 87 kilometres from Athens to Marathon and back in a time of 3:22:31 despite his bicycle breaking down shortly after turning around and him falling during the return trip. The race was then done with the help of pacemakers, and some sources say that he finished the race on a pacemaker's bicycle, because his bicycle had broken down. Other sources tell that he finished the race with a bicycle from a spectator.
Konstantinidis did not do as well in the track races, finishing fifth in the 10 kilometres after colliding with countryman Georgios Kolettis and not finishing the 100 kilometres. He was one of seven to not finish out of the nine that started the race.
Read more about this topic: Aristidis Konstantinidis
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