Name Charilaos Vasilakos Role Olympic athlete | ||
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Similar People Spyridon Louis, Gyula Kellner, Carlo Airoldi | ||
Charilaos Vasilakos (Greek: Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος, 1875 – December 1, 1964) was a Greek athlete and the first man to win a marathon race. He also won a silver medal at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Biography
Vasilakos was born in Piraeus, Greece. His father Michael Vasilakos was from the Mani region and served in the army. The oldest of three siblings, at age fourteen his father died. As a young man he studied law and worked in Athens' court. A member of Panellinios sport club, he was a dedicated athlete and pursued running.
On March 22, 1896, Greece held the first modern Panhellenic Games. The main purpose of the games was to select the team that would compete in the first Modern Olympic Games later the same year. All participants were members of Greek sports clubs. Vasilakos had a reputation as a strong long-distance runner. He won the marathon race with a time of 3 hours and 18 minutes.
Vasilakos was one of seventeen athletes to start the Olympic race on April 10, 1896. He finished in second place, behind Spiridon Louis, with a time of 3:06.03 as one of only nine finishers. Both races were on 40 kilometre courses rather than the now-standard 42.195 kilometres.
After the Olympics, Vasilakos helped establish and participated in racewalking in Greece. In 1900 he won the first Greek 1000 metres walking race and participated in several races between 1900 and 1906.
Vasilakos studied law and went on to become a customs director in the ministry of finance. He had a reputation for honesty and integrity. In 1960 he was awarded the Gold Cross of the Order of Phoenix. Annual marathon races in Olympia commemorate Vasilakos. He was married to wife Helen. He died in Athens in 1964.
The 2011 book titled Ο Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος και η αμφιλεγόμενη πρωτιά του Σπύρου Λούη, English translation: Charilaos Vasilakos and the controversial lead of Spyros Louis, presents a biography of Vasilakos and signs which challenge the 1896 Olympic race results.