Ambassador Haris Lalacos presented the olive wreaths, which traveled from Greece and crowned the first place winners of the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 28.
At the Press Conference before the race day, Ambassador Lalacos talked about the origins of the Marathon race, which was inspired by the 26.2 mile distance run by Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of a military victory against the Persians in 490 BC. The modern-day sporting event was initially held at the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896. After the Games, American athletes worked for the creation of the Boston Marathon, the first Marathon race outside Greece.
Ambassador Lalacos invited all the runners to participate in the Athens Authentic Marathon and run the original course from the town of Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
