Little is known about Théato's early life. For many years it was believed he was a baker'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 Luxembourg and had moved to Belgium before settling down in the Paris suburbs. There is no evidence that Théato ever applied for French citizenship.[3] Théato was a member of the athletics club in Saint-Mandé in Paris.[1]
1900 Olympicsedit
The marathon started at 2:30pm in blazing heat. There were only 13 starters of the race, of whom 6 finished.[4] 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.[5]
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;[6] 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.[7]
Sports nationalityedit
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.[8] Born in the Grand-Duchy of 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 lodged an official complaint with the International Olympic Committee and petitioned to change the Olympic record of Théato's nationality; the complaint was officially rejected in 2004.[3] 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.[9][10][11]
Later lifeedit
Théato later became a professional runner, although with relatively little success. He set a personal best in the marathon of 2:42 in 1901.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
^"Michel Théato". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
^ ab"Michel THEATO (1878-1919)". pierrelagrue-jo.com. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
^"Olympic Games 1900 - Paris". olympicgamesmarathon.com. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
^Martin, David E.; Gynn, Roger W. H. (2000). The Olympic Marathon. Human Kinetics. ISBN978-0-88011-969-6.
^"1900: PARIS: Theato Or The Contest Victory". marathoninfo.free.fr. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
^"Luxembourg's history: The unknown Luxembourgish champion of the 1900 Olympic Marathon". today.rtl.lu. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
^"PARIS 1900 ATHLETICS MARATHON MEN RESULTS". archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
michel, théato, michel, johann, théato, march, 1878, april, 1923, luxembourgish, long, distance, runner, winner, marathon, 1900, olympics, paris, running, france, born, luxembourg, city, luxembourg, died, paris, france, théato, 1900medal, recordmen, athleticsr. Michel Johann Theato 22 March 1878 2 April 1923 was a Luxembourgish long distance runner and the winner of the marathon at the 1900 Olympics in Paris running for France He was born in Luxembourg City Luxembourg and died in Paris France 1 2 Michel Theato Theato in 1900Medal recordMen s athleticsRepresenting FranceOlympic Games1900 Paris Marathon Contents 1 Early life 2 1900 Olympics 3 Sports nationality 4 Later life 5 ReferencesEarly life editLittle is known about Theato s early life For many years it was believed he was a baker s delivery boy in Paris He also worked for some time as a cabinetmaker In the 20th century Alain Bouille discovered that Theato was born in Luxembourg and had moved to Belgium before settling down in the Paris suburbs There is no evidence that Theato ever applied for French citizenship 3 Theato was a member of the athletics club in Saint Mande in Paris 1 1900 Olympics editThe marathon started at 2 30pm in blazing heat There were only 13 starters of the race of whom 6 finished 4 Theato won the race with a time of 2 59 45 with 4 min 32 s ahead of Emile Champion and 37 min 39 s over Sweden s Ernst Fast under the eyes of more than 5 000 spectators 5 Theato s victory was initially disputed as several of his opponents including American runner Arthur Newton who finished fifth alleged that Theato 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 6 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 7 Sports nationality editThe athletics statistician Alain Bouille revealed at the end of the 20th century that Theato was not yet French at the time of the Games 8 Born in the Grand Duchy of 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 Bouille s work The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg lodged an official complaint with the International Olympic Committee and petitioned to change the Olympic record of Theato s nationality the complaint was officially rejected in 2004 3 In 2021 the IOC site mistakenly displayed the Luxembourg flag on Michel Theato 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 9 10 11 Later life editTheato later became a professional runner although with relatively little success He set a personal best in the marathon of 2 42 in 1901 1 References edit a b c Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Michel Theato Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 Retrieved 20 April 2017 Michel Theato Olympedia Retrieved 22 December 2020 a b Michel THEATO 1878 1919 pierrelagrue jo com Retrieved 20 April 2017 Olympic Games 1900 Paris olympicgamesmarathon com Retrieved 20 April 2017 Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games Men s Marathon Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 Retrieved 20 April 2017 Martin David E Gynn Roger W H 2000 The Olympic Marathon Human Kinetics ISBN 978 0 88011 969 6 1900 PARIS Theato Or The Contest Victory marathoninfo free fr Retrieved 20 April 2017 Luxembourg s history The unknown Luxembourgish champion of the 1900 Olympic Marathon today rtl lu Retrieved 2023 08 22 PARIS 1900 ATHLETICS MARATHON MEN RESULTS archive wikiwix com Retrieved 2023 08 22 Olympedia Marathon Men www olympedia org Retrieved 2023 08 22 Michel Theato IOC webpage Olympics com International Olympic Committee Michel Theato at the French Athletics Federation in French nbsp Michel Theato at Olympics com nbsp Michel Theato at Olympedia nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michel Theato amp oldid 1188859293, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
