Spyridon Louis
Spyridon ("Spyros") Louis (Greek: Σπυρίδων "Σπύρος" Λούης, sometimes transliterated Loues; January 12, 1873 – March 26, 1940) was a Greek water-carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics, thereby becoming a national hero.
Louis was born in the town of Marousi, which is now a suburb to the north of Athens, into a poor farmer's family. Louis's father sold mineral water in Athens, at the time lacking a central water supply, and his son helped him by transporting it.
Read more about Spyridon Louis: Preparation, The Marathon Race, After The Olympics, Breal's Silver Cup, Bibliography
Famous quotes containing the word louis:
“Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)