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

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish born French

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 stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

, and the winner of the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), 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 ...

at the 1900 Olympics in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

running for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was born in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

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 baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, 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 histo ...

'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, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

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 (; named for Saint Maudez) is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France, in the high-end eastern inner suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, cent ...

in Paris.

1900 Olympics

The

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 with 4 min 32 s ahead of Émile Champion and 37 min 39 s over Sweden's Ernst Fast under the eyes of more than 5,000 spectators. Théato's victory was initially disputed, as several of his opponents, including American 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. The first three finishers only receive as rewards after the race porcelain pottery, of no real value, provided by an ungenerous industrialist; these were commented on at the time as being “objects of horror” or even “hardware”. Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals were not introduced until the following Olympiad in Saint-Louis in 1904, and the winners of the 1900 marathon did not receive their medals retroactively until 1912, without ceremony.

Sports nationality

The athletics statistician Alain Bouillé revealed at the end of the 20th century that Théato was not yet French at the time of the Games. Born in the

Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembourg ...

, he arrived in France at the age of 12. He should have done his military service at the time of the Games if he had obtained his naturalization before 1900. Luxembourg never claimed this title and the IOC confirmed the “French” victory after Bouillé's work. The

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembourg ...

lodged an official complaint with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

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.

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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Theato, Michel 1878 births 1923 deaths Athletes 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 19th-century French sportsmen