Athletics Base Camp 2022.4.7
On April 6, 126 years ago, the first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece. It was 1896, and just the year after that, in 1897, the first Boston Marathon was fired.
We know that the inspiration for the inaugural Poma was the Olympic marathon. Did you know that the starter of the first Poma in 1897 was Thomas Burke, the 1896 Olympic champion in the 100m.
Today we're going to relive this story —
The protagonist Burke was born on January 15, 1875 in Boston, USA, to a family of morticians. Unfortunately, because of rheumatism, he had to rely on crutches to walk as a child, and the doctor even said that he had to do so all his life.
Little Burke did not believe in this evil, and during the rainy season of the flower season, he not only walked tigers and tigers, but even won the 400 meters championship of the regional and even national athletics championships.
At the age of 20, he was selected for the first modern Olympic Games! He really owes a debt of gratitude to his hometown, because the athletes of the American team participating in the first Olympic athletics competition are basically members of the Boston Athletics Association.
Burke was already a law student at Boston University, and he had to take six weeks off to go on the expedition. In a letter to the law department of his alma mater, he wrote: "I must wear a school uniform to participate in the competition and add glory to my alma mater!" ”
In April 1896, in Athens, Greece, Burke performed extremely well – on April 7, he won the 400m championship with a time of 54.2 seconds and the preliminary round of 58.4 seconds; on April 10, he won the 100m championship with a time of 12 seconds and a faster preliminary of 11.8 seconds. In particular, he pioneered the "crouch start"!
The Olympics shined, and Burke wasn't obsessed with olive branches and applause. After witnessing the first marathon, the young man was very excited, and Boston Athletics Association coach John Graham was equally excited.
▲The main venue of the first modern Olympic Games.
▲ King George I of Greece presented the award to the first Olympic marathon champion Louis.
In Athens, Burke and his group of Bostonians who came from afar had an idea: go back to their hometown and hold a marathon!
▲ The left one standing in the back row is Burke.
After returning home, Burke and Graham became the two promoters of the first Poma. Finally, a year later, on April 19, 1897, The Patriotic Day of the United States, the first Poma was on the verge of erupting. On a country road in Ashland, 18 amateur athletes stood in front of the starting line, Burke was the official starter, but he did not have a starting gun, just a simple shout "Go", and began the long journey.
The original Poma distance was only about 40 km, but in 1924 it was set at 42.195 km, so since then – the starting point of Poma has also been moved to Hopkinton, the route has been fixed, and the race has now spanned three centuries.
Burke later became a lawyer, athletics coach, and part-time journalist. At the age of 43, he fought in World War I and was the oldest pilot in the United States. On February 14, 1929, Burke died young at the age of 54.
Let's take a look at Burke's PBs -
100 metres – 11.2 (1895)
200 metres – 22.6 (1897)
400 metres – 48.5 (1896)
800 metres – 1:55.9 (1897)
Let's look at a few precious photos -
▲ Boston Athletics Association (abbreviated as BAA) commemorative plaque, the association was founded in 1887.
Members of the Boston Athletics Association in the 1890s.
John McDermott, inaugural Boston Marathon champion, finished 2:55:10, nearly 7 minutes ahead of runners-up.
▲ The Boston Globe comic edition reported on the first Bauma on April 20, 1897.
Athletics Base Camp, thank you for reading!