Born on 12 January 1873 in Maroussi near Athens, Spiridon Louis,a24-year-old Greek shepherd, became the real hero of the 1896Games.There was no event that the Greek hosts wanted more to winthan the40,000-meter marathon race, which was created to honor thelegend ofPheidippides, who allegedly carried the news of the Greekvictory atthe Battle of Marathon in 490 BC by running fromMarathon to Athens.On 10 April 1896, Louis, wearing shoes that hadbeen donated by hisfellow villa

gers, set off from Marathon withsixteen other runners.He took the lead four kilometres from thePanathenaic Stadium and,to the great joy of the 100,000 spectatorsin and around thestadium, won the race by more than seven minutes.Forty years later,Louis recalled the moments after his victory:That hour wassomething unimaginable and it still appears to me inmy memory likea dream…. Twigs and flowers were raining down on me.Everybody wascalling out my name and throwing their hats in theair….

1873年1月12日，斯皮里顿·路易斯出生于希腊雅典附近的马罗西。24岁的时候，这位牧羊人成为1896年奥运会上真正的英雄。

就东道主希腊人对于胜利的渴望来说，没有哪个项目能够比得上4万米马拉松。这个项目的设立是为了纪念传奇的菲迪皮德斯，公元前490年，他从马拉松跑到雅典，带回了希腊赢得马拉松战役的消息。

1896年4月10日，路易斯穿着家乡村民送给他的鞋子，与另外16名选手一起从马拉松出发。他在距离帕纳辛奈科斯体育场4公里的地方开始领先，并最终以7分多钟的优势赢得比赛，使体育场内外的10万名观众陷入狂喜。

40年后，路易斯回忆起胜利后的情形，“那是不可思议的时刻，在我的记忆中至今仍然是一场梦……树枝和鲜花像雨点一样洒向我。每个人都喊着我的名字，把他们的帽子抛向天空……”

作者：小 文

（来源：中国体育报）