78 Olympics and the Marathon

Records show that the first Olympic games were held in 776 B.C. Scholars, however, believe the games began hundreds of years before. They base this belief on slim clues on some old scrolls.

The games were not played continuously since 776 B.C. They were stopped in A.D. 394 because they became too grueling. The best athletes were not chosen. Choices were not political. Even Emperor Nero entered, and he was no athlete. So the Olympics were not played for 1,500 years. Then a lucky thing happened. A group found ruins of the ancient Olympic stadium in 1878.

News spread. A rich French baron became interested. And in 1896 the games were renewed. The baron insisted that the marathon race be added. After all, he argued, the run from Marathon saved Athens and perhaps all of Greece. Here is that story.

The battle of Marathon took place in 490 B.C. A runner was sent to carry the news of victory to Athens. The runner was a soldier named Pheidippides. He reported the victory. Then, exhausted, he dropped dead. He had run 22 miles and 1,470 yards. The distance was measured up to the high pile of brave dead. This spot is still marked.

But wait, isn’t the marathon 26 miles and 385 yards? Yes. But game by game, the distance varied. It was usually around 24 miles. The present length was finally set in 1924. Here is how it was agreed on. The Olympics of 1908 had been held in London. The starting line was at the royal residence at Windsor Castle. The goal was the stadium. This was exactly 26 miles. But the finishing line was extended 385 yards so that the race would end in front of the royal box.

记录显示，第一届奥林匹克运动会于公元前776年举行。然而，学者们认为这些运动会在数百年前就开始了，他们的这一观点基于一些古老卷轴上的微弱线索。

这些运动会并非自公元前776年以来持续举行。它们在公元394年停止了，因为变得过于严酷。最佳运动员并非通过选拔产生，选拔也不涉及政治因素。甚至尼禄皇帝也参加了，而他根本不是运动员。因此，奥运会中断了1500年。后来一件幸运的事发生了，一个团体在1878年发现了古代奥林匹克体育场的废墟。

消息传开了，一位富有的法国男爵产生了兴趣。于是在1896年，奥运会得以复兴。这位男爵坚持要增加马拉松比赛。他辩称，毕竟从马拉松镇跑来的这一征程拯救了雅典，或许拯救了整个希腊。以下就是那个故事。

马拉松战役发生在公元前490年。一名跑步者被派去给雅典传递胜利的消息，这名跑步者是名叫斐迪庇第斯的士兵。他报告了胜利的消息，然后因精疲力竭倒下死亡。他跑了22英里1470码，这段距离是到那堆勇敢阵亡者的高堆处测量的，这个地点至今仍有标记。

但等等，马拉松不是26英里385码吗？是的。但一届又一届比赛中，距离有所不同，通常在24英里左右。现在的长度最终在1924年确定。确定的过程是这样的：1908年的奥运会在伦敦举行，起跑线位于温莎城堡的王室居所，终点是体育场，这段距离正好是26英里。但终点线被延长了385码，以便比赛能在皇家包厢前结束。