Stylianos Kyriakides
Encyclopedia
Stylianos "Stelios" Kyriakides ' onMouseout='HidePop("90978")' href="/topics/Julian_calendar">OS
/NS
) – December 1987) was a marathon
runner.
He was born in Paphos
, Cyprus
Kyriakides competed for Greece
in the 1936 Summer Olympics
, placing 11th. He was invited by his friend and fellow Berlin marathoner, Johnny Kelley
, to participate in the Boston Marathon
in the late 1930s. On the day of the marathon he wore new shoes, which injured his feet and caused him to place poorly.
He returned to Greece, and survived the German occupation during World War II
. With the Greek Civil War
raging, he returned to win the 1946 Boston Marathon
. According to a newspaper report, he was running with Johnny Kelley near the end, when an old man shouted from the crowd, "For Greece, for your children!" inspiring him to pull away and win the race in 2:29:27. According to Life magazine he shouted 'For Greece' as he crossed the finish line.
In 1948 he finished 18th in the Olympic marathon at the London Games
.
A sculpture of Kyriakides called "The Spirit of the Marathon" was unveiled in Boston in 2004. It is at the 1 mile mark of the marathon in Hopkinton. It was commissioned by the Hopkinton Athletic Association and was dedicated in 2006 to mark the 60th anniversary of Kyriakides' victory in the 1946 race.
"The winner of the 50th Boston Marathon, Kyriakides used his victory as a call to action to aid his war and famine-ravaged homeland. Kyriakides, who narrowly escaped execution during World War II during the Nazi occupation of Greece, hadn't run in six years when he came to Boston in 1946, with the help of Greek-American benefactors. He was emaciated from the lack of food in war-ravaged Greece, and at one point was told by doctors in Boston he wouldn't be allowed to run because they were afraid he would die in the streets. That backdrop only added to the almost mythic race performance, in which Kyriakides came on at the end to defeat the defending champion and set the best time in the world for 1946. Nearly a million people greeted him on his return to Athens in May 1946, when he came back with boat loads of food, medicine, clothing and other essentials donated by Americans who read of his victory."
– Sculpture’s Official Press Release.
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
/NS
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
) – December 1987) was a marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
runner.
He was born in Paphos
Paphos
Paphos , sometimes referred to as Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos and New Paphos. The currently inhabited city is New Paphos. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, about west of the...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
Kyriakides competed for Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
, placing 11th. He was invited by his friend and fellow Berlin marathoner, Johnny Kelley
Johnny Kelley
John Adelbert "Johnny" Kelley was an American long-distance runner who twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics, in 1936 and 1948....
, to participate in the Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
in the late 1930s. On the day of the marathon he wore new shoes, which injured his feet and caused him to place poorly.
He returned to Greece, and survived the German occupation during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. With the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
raging, he returned to win the 1946 Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
. According to a newspaper report, he was running with Johnny Kelley near the end, when an old man shouted from the crowd, "For Greece, for your children!" inspiring him to pull away and win the race in 2:29:27. According to Life magazine he shouted 'For Greece' as he crossed the finish line.
In 1948 he finished 18th in the Olympic marathon at the London Games
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
.
A sculpture of Kyriakides called "The Spirit of the Marathon" was unveiled in Boston in 2004. It is at the 1 mile mark of the marathon in Hopkinton. It was commissioned by the Hopkinton Athletic Association and was dedicated in 2006 to mark the 60th anniversary of Kyriakides' victory in the 1946 race.
"The winner of the 50th Boston Marathon, Kyriakides used his victory as a call to action to aid his war and famine-ravaged homeland. Kyriakides, who narrowly escaped execution during World War II during the Nazi occupation of Greece, hadn't run in six years when he came to Boston in 1946, with the help of Greek-American benefactors. He was emaciated from the lack of food in war-ravaged Greece, and at one point was told by doctors in Boston he wouldn't be allowed to run because they were afraid he would die in the streets. That backdrop only added to the almost mythic race performance, in which Kyriakides came on at the end to defeat the defending champion and set the best time in the world for 1946. Nearly a million people greeted him on his return to Athens in May 1946, when he came back with boat loads of food, medicine, clothing and other essentials donated by Americans who read of his victory."
– Sculpture’s Official Press Release.
Sources
- Nick Tsiotos and Andy Dabilis, Running With Pheidippides: Stylianos Kyriakides, the Miracle Marathoner (Syracuse University Press, 2001).
- Amazon.com listing for Running With Pheidippides
- http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3674732552610240499&q=kyriakides&total=18&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 Documentary about Kyriakides that aired before the Closing Ceremonies to the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Video
- Documentary about Stelios Kyriakides, Starts at 8:10