Stylianos Kyriakides
Kyriakides’ Famous Boston Marathon run and the birth of charity running
At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin
Stylianos Kyriakides competed in the Marathon for his native country of Greece, placing 11th. There he met fellow Berlin marathoner, Johnny Kelley of Boston, who encouraged him to com e to America and to participate in the Boston Marathon. However, on the day of the 1938 Boston Marathon, Kyriakides wore new running shoes, causing his feet to bleed, costing him the race. Kyriakides returned to Greece, where he barely survived the Nazi occupation. With the Greek Civil War following on the heels of World War II, and with thousands of countrymen still dying from starvation following their heroic and critical resistance to WWI fascism, Kyriakides felt compelled to run the Boston Marathon again in 1946, this time not for his own personal success, but to draw America’s attention to Greece’s condition. So in 1946 Kyriakides returned to Boston, but was so emaciated from the lack of food in war-ravaged Greece, he was told by doctors in Boston that he would not be allowed to run because they were afraid he would die in the streets. Nevertheless, Kyriakides ran and won the Marathon. According to a newspaper report, he was running neck and neck with Kelley nearing the finish line, when an old man shouted from the crowd, “For Greece, for your children!” motivating Kyriakides to pull away and win the race in 2:29:27, a new record time. According to Life magazine he shouted, “For Greece” as he crossed the finish line.
Nearly a million people greeted Kyriakides on his return to Athens in May 1946, when hecame back with boat loads of food, medicine, clothing and other essentials donated by generous Americans who read of his cause and victory. His story has inspired generations of runners, and he is remembered as one of the greatest figures in the history of the Boston Marathon and American sport. He is considered the first in a long line of charitable runners-those who run for the good and for virtue.
Kyriakides Boston Marathon 1946 Spirit of the Marathon This work at the 1-mile mark of the Marathon in Hopkinton was commissioned by New Balance Athletic Shoe Company and dedicated in 2006 to mark the 60th anniversary of Kyriakides’ victory in the 1946 race. The statue was created by legendary sculptor Mico Kaufman of Tewksbury, Mass. and cast in bronze by New England Sculpture Service in Chelsea, Mass.
An identical work was so commissioned and placed in the City of Marathon, Greece, sister city of Hopkinton, along the seashore near the ancient battlesite, to mark the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Kyriakides Marathon Hopkington statue
At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin
Stylianos Kyriakides competed in the Marathon for his native country of Greece, placing 11th. There he met fellow Berlin marathoner, Johnny Kelley of Boston, who encouraged him to com e to America and to participate in the Boston Marathon. However, on the day of the 1938 Boston Marathon, Kyriakides wore new running shoes, causing his feet to bleed, costing him the race. Kyriakides returned to Greece, where he barely survived the Nazi occupation. With the Greek Civil War following on the heels of World War II, and with thousands of countrymen still dying from starvation following their heroic and critical resistance to WWI fascism, Kyriakides felt compelled to run the Boston Marathon again in 1946, this time not for his own personal success, but to draw America’s attention to Greece’s condition. So in 1946 Kyriakides returned to Boston, but was so emaciated from the lack of food in war-ravaged Greece, he was told by doctors in Boston that he would not be allowed to run because they were afraid he would die in the streets. Nevertheless, Kyriakides ran and won the Marathon. According to a newspaper report, he was running neck and neck with Kelley nearing the finish line, when an old man shouted from the crowd, “For Greece, for your children!” motivating Kyriakides to pull away and win the race in 2:29:27, a new record time. According to Life magazine he shouted, “For Greece” as he crossed the finish line.
Nearly a million people greeted Kyriakides on his return to Athens in May 1946, when hecame back with boat loads of food, medicine, clothing and other essentials donated by generous Americans who read of his cause and victory. His story has inspired generations of runners, and he is remembered as one of the greatest figures in the history of the Boston Marathon and American sport. He is considered the first in a long line of charitable runners-those who run for the good and for virtue.
Kyriakides Boston Marathon 1946 Spirit of the Marathon This work at the 1-mile mark of the Marathon in Hopkinton was commissioned by New Balance Athletic Shoe Company and dedicated in 2006 to mark the 60th anniversary of Kyriakides’ victory in the 1946 race. The statue was created by legendary sculptor Mico Kaufman of Tewksbury, Mass. and cast in bronze by New England Sculpture Service in Chelsea, Mass.
An identical work was so commissioned and placed in the City of Marathon, Greece, sister city of Hopkinton, along the seashore near the ancient battlesite, to mark the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Kyriakides Marathon Hopkington statue