Michel Johann Théato (22 March 1878 – 2 April 1923) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

ish

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

, and the winner of the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

at the 1900 Olympics in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He was born in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

and died in

Early life

Little is known about Théato's early life. For many years it was believed he was a

baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

's delivery boy in Paris. He also worked for some time as a cabinetmaker. In the 20th century, Alain Bouillé discovered that Théato was born in

and had moved to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

before settling down in the Paris suburbs. There is no evidence that Théato ever applied for French citizenship. Théato was a member of the athletics club in

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé () is a high-end Communes of France, commune of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. It is one of the sm ...

in Paris.

1900 Olympics

The marathon started at 2:30pm in blazing heat. There were only 13 starters of the race, of whom 6 finished. Théato won the race with a time of 2:59:45. Théato's victory was initially disputed, as several of his opponents, including

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

runner Arthur Newton, who finished fifth, alleged that Théato had cheated by taking multiple shortcuts, helped by his local knowledge of the Parisian streets through his job as a delivery boy. These allegations have since been disproved, but as a result of them, Théato did not receive the gold medal until 1912.

Later life

Théato later became a professional runner, although with relatively little success. He set a personal best in the marathon of 2:42 in 1901. The

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

lodged an official complaint with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

and petitioned to change the Olympic record of Théato's nationality; the complaint was officially rejected in 2004. In 2021, the IOC site mistakenly displayed the Luxembourg flag on Michel Théato's page, which led some to believe that Luxembourg had officially recovered this Olympic title. It was actually a technical error in the IOC database, error since corrected, between nationality and NOC represented by the athlete.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Theato, Michel 1878 births 1923 deaths Sportspeople from Luxembourg City Luxembourgian male long-distance runners French male marathon runners Olympic gold medalists for France Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Luxembourgian male marathon runners Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Luxembourgian expatriate sportspeople in France