2006-06-13 07:28:08 · 13 answers · asked by You Sexy Beast S 1 in Sports ➔ Olympics
It is now and has been since 1924, 26 miles, 385 yards (or 42.195 km, for you metric fans).
The length of a marathon was at first not fixed, since all that was important was that all athletes competed on the same course. The exact length of an Olympic marathon varied depending on the route established for each venue. Beginning with the 1896 Olympic Marathon, it was 40 km (24.85 miles).
The choice of distance was somewhat arbitrary. The first modern Olympics in 1896 had a marathon distance of 40 km. The starting point for the 1908 Olympic marathon in London was modified so that the Royal Family could have a good view and the length happened to be 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). For the next Olympics in 1912, the length was changed to 40.2 km and changed again to 42.75 km for the 1920 Olympics. Of the first 7 Olympic games, there were 6 different marathon distances between 40 and 42.75 km (40 km being used twice).
A fixed distance of 42.195 km was adopted in 1921 by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) as the official marathon distance.
And to clarify a few statements that have been posted here, the name "marathon" comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier who, according to legend, was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Greeks had defeated the Persiansin the Battle of Marathon.
It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message to the city, he collapsed dead. There is no evidence that any such event actually took place; but according to the Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta. The legend that he ran from Marathon to Athens was invented by later writers and appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD. The International Olympic Committee estimates the actual distance from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens is only about 34.5 km (21.4 miles)
2006-06-14 06:56:57 · answer #1 · answered by chairman_of_the_bored_04 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
26 miles, 400 yards - the distance between Marathon, Greece and Athens. A runner ran between the 2 cities to carry news of a military victory.
2006-06-13 07:32:29 · answer #2 · answered by beetee44 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The standard marathon is actually measured as 42.4 km's (and not in miles). According to Olimpic standards, this was the original distance the ancient Greek soldier ran to bring the message of the Trojan attack to the place called Marathon!
2006-06-13 07:37:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
26 miles
2006-06-15 02:28:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
26 miles
2006-06-13 07:30:48 · answer #5 · answered by mark35772 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Exactly 26 miles, 385 yards.
2006-06-13 07:40:36 · answer #6 · answered by barrybond0044 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
just over 26 miles
2006-06-13 07:30:38 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
26 long hard miles
2006-06-15 10:45:46 · answer #8 · answered by jane m 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
30 miles if you take a wrong turn at one of the interesctions.
2006-06-13 22:06:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
26.2 miles
2006-06-14 20:41:20 · answer #10 · answered by amyladie2000 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋