Olympic career
Competing in the Olympic Games of the 154th Olympiad in 164 BC, the last of the "golden age" of the ancient Games, Leonidas captured the crown in three separate foot races: the '' stadion'', the '' diaulos'', and the '' hoplitodromos''. He repeated this feat in the next three subsequent Olympics, in 160 BC, in 156 BC, and finally in 152 BC at the age of 36. Leonidas's lifetime record of twelve individual Olympic victory wreaths was unmatched in the ancient world. His number of victories are a testament to his versatility as a runner. Philostratus the Athenian wrote in his '' Gymnastikos'' that Leonidas made all previous theories of runners' training and body types obsolete. The ''stadion'' and the ''diaulos'', foot races of some 200 and 400 meters respectively, were best suited to sprinters, while the ''hoplitodromos'' (a ''diaulos'' performed with bronze armor and shield) required more muscular strength and endurance.References
{{Ancient Olympic winners 188 BC births 2nd-century BC deaths 2nd-century BC Rhodians Ancient Olympic competitors Ancient Rhodian athletes