Everyone knows that the modern Olympic Games were revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1896 don’t they? Well actually they weren’t and de Coubertin himself acknowledges the fact. In 394AD the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I abolished the ancient Olympic Games as a pagan ritual contrary to his Christian beliefs. They had lasted almost twelve centuries and would remain dormant until the nineteenth century when their spirit would be revived by an Englishman - William Penny Brookes. Baron Pierre de Coubertin would later develop Brookes’ idea into the modern Olympic Games.

Doctor Brookes believed that exercise would make local people healthier. Over a century before it became fashionable Brookes argued that physical activity was essential to a healthy lifestyle. Even now - more than a hundred-and-fifty years later - the message still needs to be reinforced. Obesity - even morbid obesity - is a serious problem even among young people today. Brookes foresaw this and devised a solution to it - physical exercise that could be achieved in part through the revival of the ancient Games. He was several decades ahead of his time and the longevity of his life demonstrated the wisdom of his vision. He conceived the idea of a sporting competition to achieve that aim. Based on Olympic ideals Brookes organised the first Olympian Games in the English town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire by in 1850. The Wenlock Olympian Society organise the games annually. Unlike its ancient predecessor it has been rudely interrupted by war. It consists of several sports, including cricket and golf and is open to anyone above the age of eleven. It also includes athletics and cycling.

The Wenlock Olympian Games is very much the poor relation of its more illustrious counterpart in terms of resources and exposure, but the Olympic Movement owes a huge debt to Brookes. He failed - just - to see his vision of a revival of the Olympic Games on the international stage. He died aged eighty-six shortly before de Coubertin realised their dream in Athens. The Olympian Games remain strictly amateur and there is no fame or fortune for winners, let alone competitors. This year’s games cost less than £8000. The opening ceremony in Beijing dwarfed that figure. The Wenlock Olympiads remain true to the ideals of Brookes, which inspired a young and wealthy Frenchman - Pierre de Frédy, later Baron de Coubertin.

The Olympic movement acknowledges the debt that it owes to William Penny Brookes. In 1994 the then President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Juan Antonio Samaranch visited Much Wenlock to place a wreath at Brookes’ grave. “I came to pay homage and tribute to Dr Brookes, who really was the founder of the modern Olympic Games,” said Samaranch at the time. Brookes dreamed of an international revival of the Olympic Games. He also organised national games at Crystal Palace in 1866. Having organised the Olympian Games with the opening parade that the young de Coubertin found riveting, Brookes knew that his idea would thrive whether or not he lived to see it, but sadly it was left to the Frenchman to fulfil his dream.

The man wrongly credited by most as the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Frédy, was born in 1863.¹ As a young child he witnessed the humiliation of his country in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. It had a profound effect on him, but he declined his family’s choice of a career in the military. He turned his back on politics too. De Coubertin set his mind to reforming the education system in France. He became convinced that lack of physical exercise played a part in the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and that physical exercise needed to be incorporated into the education system. He was determined to do something about it. His chance came in 1890. His wealthy family paid for him to research sport in public schools in England. Brookes heard about it and invited him to come to see the Wenlock Olympiad and de Coubertin accepted the invitation. The sight of the people of Much Wenlock competing against eachother, along with the pageantry and festive nature of the games convinced him that an international revival of the Olympic Games was possible. He sat up all night discussing plans to do so with Brookes who shared his dream. De Coubertin had discovered the cause that would define his life and he owed it all to a Victorian doctor in a small English town, but he was also aware of attempts to revive the Olympic Games in Greece. The fenchman planted an oak tree in Much Wenlock during his visit in 1890 which still stands today.

De Coubertin was a keen sportsman, proficient in boxing: fencing, riding and rowing. He believed that sport was essential for moral development. It resulted in his work to revive the Olympic Games, inspired by the tireless efforts of Dr Brookes. De Coubertin organised a congress at the Sorbonne in June 1894. He outlined his plan to revive the ancient Olympic Games. The congress ended with the foundation of the IOC. Meanwhile, de Coubertin and his new committee had much to do. He was appointed General-Secretary of the IOC and worked together with the organisation’s first President Demetrius Vakelas to ensure that the first games in Athens were successful. The Olympic torch was lit again. Christianity and the Olympic movement had found a way to co-exist despite Theodosius’ decree.

An old story was dusted down to create an event - the marathon - that proved very important to Greeks, but it was the idea of a Frenchman Michel Bréal. The Greeks loved the idea and incorporated the event into the Olympic programme. They even had trials. The first ever marathon took place on March 22^nd 1896. It was won by Charilaos Vasilakos. The second qualifying race took place a fortnight later. Demitrios Deligiannis won it with Spyridon Louis in fifth place. On April 10^th he was one of seventeen competitors who set out from Marathon to recreate the famous run of the Athenian soldier Pheidippides - the best runner in the Athenian army at the Battle of Marathon in 490BC. There was however a slight problem - the Greek trial of March 22^nd was the first ever marathon. Pheidippides was indeed a truly great athlete, but he never ran a marathon - his actual feat was far more impressive.

In 490BC the Persian Emperor Darius invaded Greece at the head of a large army. He was defeated at the Battle of Marathon by Athenian forces. It is claimed that Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to bring them news of the victory, uttered the word ‘Rejoice!’ and promptly fell down dead. This story is highly unlikely to put it mildly. The ancient Olympic Games were thriving at the time of the Battle of Marathon. Their equivalent of the marathon was not added in 488BC - the first games after the battle - nor was it the same distance. Pheidippides’ running was done long before the victory. Athenian generals recognised that there was a major threat to Greek civilisation and that Greece had a better chance if Athens and Sparta could unite to face the challenge. They sent Pheidippides to Sparta to ask them to help at Marathon. Pheidippides covered the distance - some hundred-and-forty miles in two days. The Spartans were sympathetic, but were observing religious rituals that could not be broken. They agreed to join the Athenians as soon as the moon became full. Pheidippides returned to Athens to convey the Spartans’ answer to his generals, but they had already set out for Marathon. Pheidippides joined them there. The Athenians fought their way into history. Even the Spartans who kept their word and set out to defend Athens - arriving as soon as they could - were impressed to find that the Athenians had snuffed out the danger. They went to Marathon to survey the battlefield and the extent of Persian casualties before returning to Sparta. Ten years later the Spartans would lead the defence of Greece at Thermopylis (Thermopylæ). Pheidippides had run over three hundred miles to get to the battle on time. Why would a comparative jog kill such a supremely conditioned athlete? The truth does not appear to lie in the modern Olympic yarn, so what really happened and where did the story come from?

The Greek historian Herodotus’ account of the Battle of Marathon and Pheidippides’ contribution puts the myth to rest once and for all. His account tells of a Persian attempt to snatch victory from the defeat. Realising that Athens was undefended as their army was at Marathon, Darius ordered his army to board their ships and sail to Athens quickly to attack it. The Athenian army marched back to their city and arrived before the Persian fleet. It was sufficient to dissuade a Persian attack and Darius returned to Persia. He spent the rest of his life quelling revolts. In 486BC he was murdered. His son Xerxes eventually claimed the throne. He invaded Greece again a decade after his father and ultimately failed in 479 BC due to defeats at the Battles of Salamis and Platæa. In 1983 an annual race that covers the actual route that Pheidippides ran - the spartathlon - began. The marathon myth can be traced to Plutarch quoting Roman sources from the second century AD - more than five hundred years after the Battle of Marathon.

Clearly the marathon myth was a Roman invention, but it served its purpose - an event where a Greek athlete could excel and crucially unite the Greek people behind the revived Olympic Games and it was necessary. Greece failed to win a gold medal in the athletics at the inaugural modern Olympic Games. The marathon was the best chance for a Greek athlete to win. Thirteen of the seventeen competitors were Greek.

One of the four foreigners, Albin Lermusiaux, took an early lead, but his exertions in coming third in the 1500m took a toll. He collapsed through exhaustion after thirty-two kilometres, handing the initiative to Australia’s Teddy Flack - the gold medallist in the 800m and 1500m. Louis wore Flack down slowly. With four kilometres remaining Flack collapsed as well, but word was slow reaching the stadium. As Louis took the lead police sent a cyclist to convey the news to the purpose-built Olympic stadium. The excitement grew as the long awaited Greek victory approached. When Louis entered the stadium Crown Princes Constantine and George accompanied him on his lap around the stadium. His victory was greeted with euphoria throughout Greece, but especially in the stadium. Greeks finished second and third too, but Spyridon Belokas was deservedly disqualified when it was discovered that he covered some of the race in a carriage. Louis was showered with gifts, including a carriage that he received from the king - it was the only thing he could think to ask for.

Spyridon Louis never competed again after his victory. He turned to farming and later became a policeman. His later life was shrouded in controversy. Arrested for allegedly falsifying military documents in 1926, he spent a year in jail before being acquitted. The case caused great anger in Greece. A decade later Louis was embroiled in an even greater controversy. He carried the Greek flag at the Berlin Olympics and was selected to meet Hitler. He offered the Nazi leader an olive branch from Olympia - the Olympic symbol of peace. It was considered a bizarre gesture given the circumstances, but could also have been Spyridon Louis’ protest as Europe moved towards war. Shortly before the Nazi invasion of Greece in 1940 Louis died. Athens had to wait over a century to host the Olympic Games again. The new Olympic stadium was named in his honour. Spyridon Louis’ success - the only Greek victory in athletics at the 1896 Olympic Games - ensured that Greeks warmed to the games and secured its future at least until Paris in 1900.

Athens had hosted a very popular revival of the Olympic Games, but there was controversy in the fledgling IOC between those who wanted Greece to remain the permanent host of the Olympic Games and those like de Coubertin who wanted the games to travel the world to be resolved. After the games ended de Coubertin succeeded Vakelas as IOC President. During the First World War the headquarters of the IOC was moved to Lausanne as de Coubertin believed that it should be in a neutral country. It has stayed in Switzerland ever since. De Coubertin’s election as President of the IOC resulted in the Olympic Games travelling the world. It was a risky strategy that almost backfired as the second and third Olympiads lacked the public interest that Athens had enjoyed.

The second international Olympiad took place in Paris in 1900, but was dwarfed by the World Fair - a fate that befell the 1904 Olympics in the first Olympic Games to reach the shores of the USA in the St Louis. Against de Coubertin’s wishes the IOC decided to change the structure and host the games every two years beginning in 1906. Athens hosted these interim games. The results from those games were later considered unofficial. Nevertheless they revived interest in the Olympic Games again after comparatively unsuccessful games in Paris and Saint Louis.

Pierre de Coubertin’s term as President of the IOC ended in 1925. His legacy is defined by his role in reviving the modern Olympic Games. He was about to be awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Lausanne, but died suddenly on September 2^nd 1937. He is buried in the Swiss city, but at his request his heart is buried in Olympia. The Pierre de Coubertin Medal is given to athletes who display the spirit of sportsmanship. It is considered by many athletes to be an even greater honour than the gold medal.

While most people credit de Coubertin with founding the modern Olympic Games, he gives due credit to Brookes. A letter to that effect is one of the prize possessions of the Wenlock Olympian Society. The Olympic Games of 2012 will be held in London and it will acknowledge the importance of the Much Wenlock Olympian Games and the immense contribution of William Penny Brookes - without whom the Olympic Games may never have been revived. The Olympian Games take place in Much Wenlock every July. As the sporting world converged on Beijing for the twenty-sixth modern Olympiad, they should spare a thought for the Victorian doctor who wanted to promote the moral benefits of physical exercise and gave today’s élite athletes the platform to achieve sporting excellence and achieve fame and wealth as their predecessors in Olympia had done in antiquity