LONDON (AP) — Christie’s auction house says that a silver cup awarded to the Greek runner who won the first Olympic marathon in 1896 has been sold for more than 540,000 pounds ($865,000).
Spyros Louis was presented with the cup, a silver medal, an antique vase, an olive branch and a diploma by Greece’s King George I for his Athens victory in the 25-mile (roughly 40-kilometer) -long race. That’s slightly shorter than the modern, 26.2-mile-long marathon.
The cup was being sold by Louis’ grandson, who shares the same name as his grandfather.
The junior Louis said he was overwhelmed by the international interest in his grandfather’s award and said Wednesday that the money would “secure the future of my family.”
The cup will return to Greece after being bought by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
